//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - The Milk Bar // Story: Pinkie 'swaddle' Pie // by Yosh-E-O //------------------------------// ‘Silly Filly’ used her Pinkie Pie knowledge and skills to go as unseen as possible in reaching Moo Cow Milk. The small barn-like building was as it had always been. Working ponies and cows ensuring all the milk-based products were kept stocked and properly refrigerated until a customer arrived to purchase them. Nothing at all out of the ordinary. “Except…,” considered Pinkie as she saw some ponies enter into the public restroom and never return. “Hmm…,” NUDGE-NUDGE Pinkie was snapped out of her observations by a grey stallion with a white mane. “Psst,” he said while keeping his eyes focused on a container of milk he had in his hooves. “Are you new?” “New?” answered Pinkie before she realized she needed to keep her cover. “Ah-oh, yes.” “Well,” the stallion seemed to grumble. “You’d do us all a favor by not wearing your play clothes in public.” “Play clothes?” wondered Pinkie as she got into her role as Silly Filly. The stallion sighed. “Okay,” he sighed. “see the restroom there? Go inside and you’ll find a floor tile under the changing table that is noticeably off-colored. Tap it five times and wait for me down in the milk bar.” Silly Filly gulped. “Okays,” she said. “I go.” The stallion did not appear amused as the foal-dressed pink pony followed his instructions. *** “Oof!” gasped ‘Silly Filly’ as she found herself suddenly dropped onto a soft mattress after doing exactly what the grey stallion had instructed her to do. “Oh, wow!” she exclaimed. “I had no idea there was a secret passage here!” The milk bar grew quiet as ponies in various sorts of foal attire glared her way. “OOpsie,” she giggled. “Me fall and go boom!” The patrons returned to their business of playing with blocks, bumping diapers, jovially playing in the numerous adult-sized foal play pens, bouncers, and ball pits, and, of course, drinking milk from bottles. THWUMP! “Good,” the stallion from before stated upon landing on the mattress. “You have a lot to learn if you want to come out and play.” “Wike what?” asked Silly Filly as she leaned towards the stallion. “First and foremost,” he stated. “There are lockers where you can keep your play clothes and toys.” “Wockers?” babbled Silly. The stallion sighed. “Cooing Cuddles can explain everything,” he stated while gesturing towards a mare in a onesie who was nursing a bottle at the milk bar itself. “She helped me when I first learned of this place.” The stallion walked to where other ponies were emerging from. They were all clad in all sorts of foal-related clothing and items. “Okays!” called Silly Filly as she waved towards the stallion. I goes!” *** “Goo-goo how are you?” greeted Silly Filly as she hopped up the high-chair like seat. “Ain’t it greats being a foal!” Cooing Cuddles looked towards Silly Filly as if she were from another planet. “You must be…,” she started to say before seeing through the disguise. “Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie couldn’t believe she was found out. However there was something very familiar about Cooing Cuddles. “Do I know you?” she asked. “I had no idea you were an adult foal, too!” the Earth Pony with the sapphire mane cheered. “Though I should have always guessed knowing your love of foal sitting and how everything you do seems like the work of a little filly!” “Gemstone Bangle…?” asked Pinkie. “The one-and-only!” she proclaimed merrily while giving Pinkie a big hug. “So glad you’re here!” Pinkie was all for hugs but very confused about what her friend was trying to say. “I’m actually here looking for some pony,” said Pinkie. “Swaddle Puff?” Gemstone Bangle looked as if the life had been sucked right out of her. “Why?” she asked with noticeable disappointment. “Did I say something wrong?” worried Pinkie. Gemstone grew a frown. “No…,” she pouted. “I just thought we could finally talk openly about our feelings on being adult foals.” “We can,” Pinkie smiled. “But you’re not really an adult foal… are you?” whimpered the mare. “Well, uh, actually…,” pondered Pinkie. “I don’t know.” Gemstone took to suckling her hoof for a moment while shifting nervously in her chair. “Pinkie,” she said without facing the disguised party pony. “Do you know how some hurts never go away?” “I’ve heard it in a song once,” she replied. “Well,” Gemstone continued. “I was hurt pretty bad as a filly. When I became the foal sitter you knew me to be when I wasn’t working at the jewelery store I was always jealous of the foals I watched.” “Jealous?” wondered Pinkie. “A tear formed in Gemstone’s right eye. “Yes,” she sniffled. “Like I wanted to be them. Have another go at life. Not have the hurt that I have that will never go away.” Pinkie didn’t want to push Gemstone about ‘the hurt’ as it seemed it was upsetting her a lot to even mention it. She then thought of how she felt when watching The Cake twins. The carefree fun she had when playing with them. How they always seemed so happy. Something she thought on how she wanted them to always feel as she had numerous memories of feeling like the outcast of the family back on the rock farm. Maud, Limestone, and Marble all did what they could to include her but it wasn’t until she saw rainbow Dash’s ‘Sonic Rainboom’ that she finally felt a sense of purpose in life beyond a very depressive day-to-day feeling of not belonging. Even after that she could genuinely say she felt worse as her family just wanted to keep doing the rock farm activities while she yearned to throw another party and put smiles on the faces of others. It hurt a lot to have to leave for Ponyville but she knew if she didn’t she’d never be all she knew she needed to be. Maud was the most supportive of her leaving but it still hurt a lot to feel the family was more focused on how they were losing a worker on the farm than their daughter’s happiness. Maud played a big part in explaining Pinkie was following her dream by leaving the farm as she was doing the same to be more skilled in rocks and gems. However thinking of home always reminded her of those many years she had a sort of ‘hole’ in her heart for being, for lack of better words, ‘the family misfit’. “I’m sorry, Gemstone,” sobbed Pinkie as her emotions started to catch up with her. “I had no idea.” “Well,” she replied as her smile started to return. “When you’re here you can get back all those warm feelings of safety and love you feel were robbed from you. Be the you that you know you always deserved to be before any ‘hurts’ happened.” Gemstone banged her hooves upon the bar in a tantrum-like fashion. This brought a jovial bartender over. “What will it be, sweeties?” the cow dressed in an apron asked. “Two sippy cups of warm milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies,” beamed Gemstone as she returned to her ‘Cooing Cuddles’ personality. “Ah!” the cow replied merrily. “So glad you have a playdate today, Cuddly. I’ll go get you two those yummy cookies and milk.” Cooing Cuddles pulled ‘Silly Filly’ into a close hug and nuzzled her cheek. “Thanks, Pinkie,” she said. “Having you here makes me feel so much better.”