Chapter 5 (Friendship)
Friendship
I could have planned that better.
Minuette was sitting on the bed in her bedroom, staring at the empty cookpot on the floor. She had been so upset when she stormed up here, and now that several minutes had passed she wasn't sure what to do. Berry had not left yet, of that she was certain. She had not heard the front door open downstairs, though Berry was not eating, there was no clink of ceramics or silverware. No dribbling of poured soup. It sounded like she must still be just sitting there.
How could she have said something like that? The first words out of her mouth after I had dragged her halfway across town, let her sleep in my bed...I made her soup dammit!
Minuette felt profoundly hurt. That Berry would think so little of her as to assume something like...like that went down. They had such a wonderful time last night, even a pony as time conscious as Minuette had not noticed as the hours melted away, swapping stories. Though, in hindsight, Minuette had done most of the talking.
That's strange, I'm usually the quietest pony in the room. Even soft spoken Melodia would always be able to get a word in edgewise in conversations when she wanted to. I must have talked last night more than I have in the last week, two weeks maybe since I've been such a hermit lately.
Berry had sat and listened through it all, she even gave good advice, Minuette would wager bits to sand that Thumbtack's hardware was the place she had noticed with the smithy on the way to Cafe Celeste last night.
Even when Berry was falling down drunk she was kind, perhaps untactfully blunt, but still...Minuette had seen every type of drunk at the Canterlot University party scene, usually dragged to said parties kicking and screaming by Moondancer. But drunk Berry Punch was just regular Berry Punch, plus expletives and an inability to enunciate. It had been...refreshing.
Maybe her fear about what happened wasn't a reflection of what she thinks of me. In all likelihood she barely remembers me. You don't drink three Rainbooms and wake up the next morning with perfect recall.
Maybe Berry said what she said because of how she views herself.
What a horrible thought. To have such a low opinion of yourself, that your first thought waking up in a strange place is not what happened, but oh Celestia what did I do?
Or who did I do?
And then, even more horribly, how much of Minuette's so-called righteous indignation had actually been embarrassment and shame?
Lest we forget where our own thoughts wandered recently. Pot calling the Kettle black much?
So I schlepped her halfway across town, and put her up in my bed, and made her soup. Berry knew none of that when she woke up.
The soft call of "Minuette?" came from beyond the threshold of her door.
Minuette felt her breath catch in her throat. Berry had somehow made it up the stairs while she had been absorbed in her thoughts. I can't talk to her right now, not after what I said...
The voice came again, almost plaintive. "Colgate?"
Pinchy! Breakfast!
Minuette couldn't help but smile at the memory. Even if something like that could never be...she could try for something like it. Friendship. Perhaps not the kind of love she wished for, no, ached for. But if friendship was all Berry could give her, that would be enough, more than enough.
One more chance.
She got to her hooves and opened the door with her magic, Berry had been raising a hoof to knock, and swiftly looked away.
"Yes Berry?"
The earth pony opened her mouth, then closed it, jaw working.
It's like she didn't expect me to answer, or perhaps she expected me to just scream at her to leave again. Why does this woman always assume the worst?
After a few seconds Berry seemed to settle on words. They were the fairly obvious ones: "Colgate I'm so sorr-"
Minuette put up a hoof, mimicking Berry earlier. "Don't. Don't apologize. Explain. If I understand why, then forgiving you is easy."
Berry seemed to pull the blanket tight again.
"I...I'm not comfortable talking about it."
"Why not?"
"Because..." Berry brought her eyes up to meet with Minuette. There was apology in them, wide and fearful that she had committed a wrong that could not be fixed. But also...determination.
"Are we friends Colgate?"
Minuette could not hide her snort. "That's a hell of a thing to ask me right now."
Berry held her gaze. "I know. If you forgave me, if I had not said what I said, would we be friends?"
Minuete didn't even have to think for that one. "Yes Berry, last night was wonderful, I haven't had that much fun in weeks, months even. It felt good just to talk, I guess I needed to vent, after everything that happened in Canterlot, after losing my store. And you listened to it all. You bought me dinner, and drinks. I don't think anypony has shown me such kindness mere minutes after meeting me. You even made me feel better about my nickname."
Berry smiled slightly and nervously ran a hoof through her mane, catching some of the tangled curls. She still had a vise grip on the blanket. "Yeah I remember, I actually remember most things, even when I get really..."
But Minuette interrupted. "And that's what hurt so much about what you said earlier. I felt like it came out of nowhere. So help me to understand. I must have given you half my life story last night, and I never once mentioned kidnapping mares I just met and stealing off to my lair to have my way with them."
She hoped the little joke would help Berry feel less uncomfortable. It got a chuckle, but did not lift the dark cloud that had descended on her bedraggled features.
Berry took a deep breath, like a gambler laying all her chips upon a risky bet she wished she didn't have to make. Minuette knew the feeling. It remained to be seen if she could even be successful in Ponyville.
"Alright, then let me ask you something Colgate. What's more important to you, finding out why I get pessimistic when it comes to me and alcohol and ponies I care about or that friendship you were just waxing poetic about?"
That threw Minuette back on her heels.
Berry continued her counter. "Like I tried to say before, I'm very sorry I said what I did. I won't make excuses, but I'm just not ok with talking about why. I'm asking you to respect my privacy about this. We um...did just meet yesterday after all."
She watched Minuette a moment, who sat digesting her words. Minuette was more than a little taken aback by the abruptness with which she had been put on the defensive in this conversation. Berry certainly did not dance around an issue. And...her words rang true. They had just met yesterday. Berry had been twice as hung over as Minuette, still was. That she was this lucid and shrewd was an impressive thing in its own right, Minuette's brain was certainly hurting. And...Minuette had gone there, in her own mind, last night. Friendship with Berry was more important than this. More important than most things really.
"All right. I forgive you."
Berry sighed relief. "Thanks."
Minuette reached out to take up Berry's hoof in her own. "But. In the future, if you wake up in a strange place with a spotty memory, instead of letting your mind take you to the dark places it goes, just ask me what happened. You'll save yourself from a lot of whatever it is that's eating at you."
Berry sat down on the bed next to Minuette, suddenly seeming very tired. "That sounds...pretty nice actually. I'm a mare with problems Colgate, but I'm...I'm trying to do right by me and mine."
Minuette dared to reach around and give Berry a quick squeeze. "Me too."
They sat like this for a time, Berry slumped against Minuette's shoulder, occasionally grimacing as her headache came and went in throbbing waves. Minuette's too began to assert itself.
It's probably time to get that soup into both of us.
"Berry?"
"Yeah Colgate?"
"While this is all very intimate and cathartic, it probably would be good for you to get some of that soup in you now."
Berry laughed weakly. Shaking slightly as she got up. "Yeah. Um, help me down the stairs would you?"
Minuette's eyes widened. "Are you feeling dizzy? Oh Berry, you should have said something! Lie down you silly pony while I make you some more pillows."
Berry eyed the bed. Minuette could feel the lavender mare's discomfort.
"...Or I could help you down the stairs."
***
A few minutes later and Berry was sipping down some of the vegetable soup Minuette had served up in a large mixing bowl.
Between sips, Berry was apologizing again. "I swear I'm not like this all the time Colgate. I just have...bad days. And I'm loads better than I used to be."
Minuette smiled as she spooned out another helping of soup. "I meant what I said Berry, I may not like it, but you don't have to explain. Just tell me about it when you're ready, and we know each other a little better."
Then Minuette had an idea. "If you're feeling up to it Berry, perhaps you could tell me a little about yourself? I did so much talking last night, and I feel like I got to hear barely anything about you."
Minuette took the next bite of soup herself. Normally she would have been worried about Berry's germs, but she was in no mood to go hunting for proper silverware. They had been making do with the single large serving spoon till now.
Berry wiggled deeper into the covers she had brought down with her and sighed. "That's fair, though I don't much like to jaw about me. Feels like vanity or something I guess."
"Berry, you evidently have some vices, but from what I can tell vanity isn't one of them." Minuette ran a hoof through her own mane and lamented how frazzled it felt, she must look like she got struck by lightning or something.
"Yeah, I guess we got Rarity for that." Berry took the spoon from Minuette's field of magic and shoved another mouthful of potatoes in. "This is really good soup Colgate."
Minuette smiled at the compliment. "Yes well father was always so helpless around the kitchen, it was up to me to make sure either of us had anything edible for-hey!" Minuette narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "No fair changing the subject on me! I've done all the talking, let's hear something about your family."
Minuette allowed the smile tugging at the corner of her lips to show. "If you're not going to be forthcoming, then I have some theories in that regard."
Berry raised her characteristic eyebrow. "Oh?"
Like pulling teeth with this pony...
"So, is Ruby Pinch your daughter?"
Berry looked up, eyes wide. "How did-"
Aha! Got you!
Minuette grinned in triumph. "I encountered her spider, Desmond, and her shortly after near Town Hall. That's how my dress got so dusty and rumpled."
"You said you took a roll in a ditch!"
Minuette sighed. "I basically did, and I was afraid of making a fuss on my first night in town. It was my fault really, though as I say that it sounds insane. Honestly, how did she take a liking to a creature like that?"
Berry laughed, then clutched her forehead and winced. "I dunno what she was thinking. I'm sure your first reaction to him was like mine. Sheer terror."
Minuette couldn't help but ask. "And Princess Luna...was really here in Ponyville? You got to hear her speak?"
Berry cringed at Minuette's choice of words. "Oh yeah. Princess Luna doesn't seem to understand volume control too well. I think she walks around all day with her voice magically enhanced to megaphone levels."
"I assumed she just did that for speeches when I saw her at last year's Winter Solstice celebration in Canterlot..." Minuette reached around to stir the soup pot again.
Berry smiled an evil smile. "Nope, that's on all the time. Terrified the hell out of us when she showed up for Nightmare Night in Ponyville, wanting to take part in the celebrations."
"Why in Equestria would she pay a personal visit to Ponyville?"
"Jealous Colgate?"
Minuette pouted. "No."
Berry reclined back in the chair, wrapping the comforter around her torso. "I figure it like this, she's only really met a few ponies since she came back, and Twilight Sparkle and her bunch are the ones that have made the biggest mark on her life in a thousand years, probably more."
Minuette gasped. "Twilight was the one who turned her back into Princess Luna?!"
Berry facehoofed. "Celestia's mercy have you been living under a rock? No, you can't have that excuse, you lived in Canterlot, how could you not know that?! I heard there was a huge ceremony at the palace and everything!" Berry was incredulous. "It was all over the radio two years ago!"
"Oh! Yes now I remember, Twilight moved to Ponyville right after that. She left with such abruptness, not even a fare-you-well. Melodia was quite offended." Minuette gave her head a speculative clonk with a hoof, as if checking to see if any further pertinent memories might be dislodged.
Satisfied she wasn't getting any more, Minuette tapped a hoof to her chin. "Well when you put it like that, I see what you mean. Princess Luna always seemed less...personable than her sister. I feel like I could just walk up to Celestia and tell her my concerns." Minuette shook her head. "I know that's silly, and Celestia is probably nothing like that in private, but she has an excellent rapport with her subjects."
Berry nodded, then continued, this time without further prodding. "Anyway, Princess Luna is a bit...behind the times, let's say."
Minuette vented a most unladylike snort.
"So she scared the willies out of most of the town when she visited, with the lightning and the voice and turning toys into real spiders. She thought it was a way to make the game more fun. She's lucky she didn't give Mr. Breezy or old Waddle a heart attack."
Berry brooded into the soup. "I had been um...drinking for some time before then, so I initially thought the one crawling up to me at the *cough* adult punch stand was a hallucination."
Then, something happened. Whatever Berry was remembering now, it transformed her expression, her posture. She smiled at Minuette. A real smile, the first that included Berry's eyes since Minuette had first met her, Minuette realized. Even last night, even after all that laughter, Berry's eyes had not sparkled with mirth like they did now. It was...Celestia's mercy she's beautiful when she smiles like that.
Berry had not seemed to notice how hypnotically Minuette was staring at her. "So Pinchy runs up in her little ladybug costume and picks up the beastie in front of me and says in the cutest voice you could imagine: 'Mommy, can I keep him?' I nearly fainted when I realized it was real."
Minuette giggled herself. "You must have been afraid for Pinchy."
Berry nodded. "I was beside myself with fear for Pinchy, the spider was huge, and so I scooped her up and ran, ran all the way back to our apartment above Cafe Celeste-"
Minuette choked on soup. "WHAT?! You mean to tell me you LIVE above that restaurant? I dragged you halfway across town, FROM YOUR HOUSE?!"
Berry shrank into the comforter under Minuette's furious glare. "I'm...I'm sorry?"
Minuette was sucking down air a little bit faster than was safe. "No. Not this time, this time you explain. You didn't think that little tidbit worthy of the eight or so hours of discussion we had last night? I think I told you where I live, I'm pretty sure I did anyway." Minuette's rage became more speculative as she scratched her head, as if tugging the hairs could yank alcohol shrouded memories free.
Berry answered for Minuette's brain. "You did, and that's just the thing." she tapped her hooves together, taking great care in her word choice again, it was a habit Minuette was starting to notice. Berry could be blunt on a dime, but nuance with her seemed to require a bit of time. Berry wasn't stupid, she was just...careful when she thought it mattered, and not when she didn't.
She began again. "You came from Canterlot, with more money than I've ever made in my life to come live with the peasant villagers in a tiny town in the sticks."
Minuette's protest was cut off as Berry continued.
"I know you don't mean to come off like that, I know you're not like that, and after talking with you, hearing how you feel about Canterlot and what you had to say about town, I know coming here was a good thing for you. But by Ponyville standards, you're richer than sin. Maybe even as rich as Rarity."
Berry took a breath. "And I'm...not. I'm a tenant above a restaurant. Horte is my landlord and also my boss. I work the bar at night, and the money goes to rent or to Pinchy's schooling."
She looked at Minuette's house, in almost wistful admiration. "I don't have any savings, not really. Just a little each year for summer camp for Pinchy and maybe enough for a little side project I'm hoping to do with Sweet Apple Acres one day."
Minuette's anger had abated as she listened. "Berry...were you worried I would think less of you for being poor?"
"...Yeah."
Minuette sighed. "Do you see a pattern here Berry?"
"Yes. Yes Dammit! I know, but-it's so hard to break out of this mindset. It's hard to unlearn."
Berry wiped an eye with the blanket.
"I've failed at nearly everything I've ever set out to do Colgate. I never completed my education. I...I had Pinchy at a very difficult time in my life, before I was ready for a child. I love her more than anything, but I can't provide for her the life she deserves without a degree. I held it together long enough to get out with a technical certificate in business, but that's not worth much anywhere but here. And on top of it I'm sabotaging myself at every turn with this damn drinking and thinking everypony hates me as much as...as..."
Minuette knelt next to Berry, and engulfed her in the fiercest hug she could. "I don't hate you Berry Punch. Not one bit. That may not count for much after everything you've been through, but I promise, that whatever happens from now on, I will be here to help you."
Berry leaned into Minuette, returning the hug. "Thanks Colgate, I...really need somepony to lean on right now."
Then, as they released the embrace, Berry spoke again. "But...why? What did I do to deserve such kindness from somepony I barely know?"
Minuette blushed, though, thank Celestia, not so much that Berry guessed its true meaning. "I'll tell you someday. I get to have secrets too."
Berry chuckled. "All right, fair enough. We'll tell each other when we both feel ready. Deal?"
Minuette grinned, and stuck out a hoof. "Deal!"
Note: So sorry for the long wait time everypony. Was super busy this month writing stuff for friends and other projects. Finals at Uni are looming as well. Vacation soon, and with it more regular updates.
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Side note what they do for a living does not necessarily need to do with their cutie mark. Looks interesting read later.
586789
Fail
How did I miss this until now? Berry Punch and Colgate?
chzgifs.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/funny-gifs-want.gif
uhm yeah, just wondering... did you get this idea from a tumblr blog?
Well this update was quite a pleasant surprise!
This is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories, I can't wait for the next chapter. 
730116 yes how did you mis that whey are usualy together in the background
I can't wait for the next chapter! This is such a awesome story :3
YES a update!
730167
While I do love this tumblr for Berry Punch, I had actually begun writing this story before I knew about it.
http://berrypunchreplies.tumblr.com/
You guys should check it out, it's really well drawn.
That was so fluffy and sweet I thought I was reading cotton candy. I seriously love this fic.
730537
Ah, you misunderstand me. The laws of shipping have made Berry Punch x Cologate one of my favorite pairs, even when they aren't romantically involved. I wasn't sure how I could have missed this fic when I went on a shipping frenzy last months.
733022
Absolutely, any kind of error correction is welcome.
733147
Oh yes, the party train is coming, and it has no brakes.
"Oh! Yes now I remember, Twilight moved to Ponyville right after that. She left with such abruptness, not even a fare-you-well. Melodia was quite offended."
Minuette tapped a hoof to her chin. "Well when you put it like that, I see what you mean. Princess Luna always seemed less...personable than Celestia. I feel like I could just walk up to her and tell her my concerns." Minuette shook her head. "I know that's silly, and Celestia is probably nothing like that up close, but she has an excellent rapport with her subjects."
This doesn't flow very well. As far as I can tell both of these paragraphs are Minuette speaking, and they're about entirely different subjects.
739109
Fixed it. I think.
GAD DAMN IT, MY CURIOSITY DRAGGED ME INTO ANOTHER LONG ONE!!
it's okay
It 's finally featured, as it should be!
733758
ibrony.com/file/pic/photo/2012/05/df7592f2332daa3f1df2802bf33b7b07_500.png
Might not be such a good idea to let Pinkie command the train...
I'm liking the story so far
. One of the very few that I've found that has Colgate and no Doctor Whooves.
740636
Thank you, fixing.
Uh...have you been unpublishing your chapters to make your edits? Because you can edit chapters without doing that, and in fact it's recommended because unpublishing and republishing bumps your fic and some people get annoyed if you do that too much.
740800
oh god, thank you for explaining that to me. I was wondering what the hell was going on.
heavy. this looks like it could go really well or extremely bad, i like the uncertainty, you are quite the writer.
All right everypony, with the new chapter posted the next week or so is going to be me editing and tidying up what's already up there. Don't worry, I'm not going back and changing major things, just making everything flow a bit better and adding some content. Example: the prologue is in dire need of some TLC as applejack would say. It's wall-of-texty, it's short compared to the other chapters, blah blah blah etc.
Once again, if you see anything you don't like, even in the edits, neigh, especially in the edits, let me know and I'll get it fixed. The right way this time. (thanks again banjo2e)
P.S. For those ponies wondering where the other half of the tagged cast is, the next chapter has Cheerilee in it. And Derpy.
But not Bic Mac.
I echo the large, imposing man above in his demands for additional content. If that's alright.
MOAR. GIVE TO US MOAR.
755421
Thank you, fixing.
THIS IS GREAT! MOAR!
I'm calmer now. This is a good work, the interactions, the dialogs, the way the characters are behaving. I really like it.
The spider is cool, the fact that luna is putting and taking souls out of things at will is still Creepy though.
How about berry not liking rarity? Will that develop into some interaction, it seems like a possible interesting thing.
780181
Berry is not pregnant. There!
780915
I'm glad somepony likes Desmond. As for Rarity, most things I mention will be revisited in the future.
whats the eta on chapter 6
781196
>most things I mention will be revisited in the future.
Cool, it shows how you know what you're doing.
Gentle, funny, and poignant with sweet low-key take on our favourite pony-town. Nice!
I like the outside perspectives on Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight, and the sequence at the start of the Chapter 4 had me going. What a frighteningly thorough imagination the clock-maker has!
Oh, and it might be a lack of sleep talking but DesmondxLuna is my new OTP.
How could some assholes dislike this story, this is my second fave mlp story ever, first being Mothers by KnightMysterio
822873
Mothers is one of my favorites too, I love the tone and the message.