//------------------------------// // Chapter 2--Last Day in Ponyville // Story: Berry Punch in the Big City // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Berry Punch crouched in a tree, one ear cocked to hear the conversation between the two fillies across the schoolyard. Superb hearing happened to be perk number six on her list, and she was using it to her full advantage. It had taken a bit of getting used to, but Berry Punch had pretty much adapted to her new life. Well, you know, aside from the trying to fight off her instincts and almost losing control of herself and nearly draining her daughter last night. But hey. Everypony has issues. “So mommy says we're going to move for the summer,” one said. That voice came from Pinchy. “For the whole summer?” another asked. That voice was Dinky, Ruby's close friend. “Yeah,” Ruby said. “The whole summer?” “Yeah.” “Wow... I'm gonna miss you, I guess.” “You guess?” “I- The whole summer seems like a long time. I don't know what else to say...” Berry heard the sound of fur rubbing against fur as Ruby nuzzled Dinky. “It's not that long, and we'll still have time to play after I get back.” “But why do you have to go?” “I don't really know... but if it helps Mommy, then I'm all for it.” Had Berry Punch still had functioning tear ducts, she probably would have started crying right there. Such a good little filly... she didn't deserve this... none of this.... Her reverie was interrupted by a questioning voice. “Berry Punch?” Except for Berry, who had been using her ears and listening intensely, it sounded a bit more like, "BERRY PUNCH?" Had she still had blood running through her body, her ears would probably have started bleeding. She shook her head—her pain tolerance was higher than normal, but she could still feel pain, how fair was that?—and looked down to see Twilight Sparkle, looking at her with a very curious expression. Berry quickly adopted her normal persona, and looked down at her with mild annoyance, her head swaying slightly as she 'tried' to keep Twilight in focus. “No need t' shout, 'm right here.” The unicorn cracked a smile. “I didn't. What are you doing in tree?” Twilight asked. “'m not inna tree,” Berry slurred. Twilight tried hard to keep a straight face. “Yes, Berry. Yes you are.” Berry Punch lifted herself up to look down at Twilight. “Maybe it's because I'm secretly a bucking fird! I'm a fird!” She emphasized this statement by flapping her forelegs emphatically. “You ever think of that, Miss Smartie McSmarterpantses?” Twilight shook her head. “Berry... you're drunk.” Berry slunk back down to her branch again and lay her head on her hooves. “No'm not.” “Yes, Berry... yes you are. I'll help you out of the tree.” “Toldja. Not inna tree!” As she said this, Berry let herself slip off the branch, and hit the ground. If she'd set that up right, she should land with no... -crack- ...problem... Berry Punch grit her teeth as pain shot through her left foreleg, and had to swallow more than a few choice curse words. It was definitely broken. Temporarily, anyway. “Berry! Are you ok? I heard something breaking! Don't move!” “'m fine,” Berry mumbled. Twilight held her down in her magic. “You're not going anywhere until I look at that.” Berry Punch shrugged as best she could. Twilight levitated her up to get a better view of the breaking point. She examined her left foreleg... and to her surprise, found nothing wrong. The bone was in perfect working order. Twilight stared, very surprised. “Toldja I was fine,” Berry said. “Now pu' me down. Makin' me sick.” Still in mild shock, Twilight gently set Berry down, whereupon she was assaulted by a young unicorn filly. “Mommy! Mommy! I saw you fall from the tree! Are you ok?” Ruby asked, running up to her mother. Berry ruffled Ruby's mane with a hoof. “'m perfec'ly fine. Jus' right 'n' dandy.” Twilight was still in mild shock. She knew what she had seen and heard, and this was just illogical. “You're... very lucky, Berry.” Berry Punch pulled Ruby in close for a tight cuddle, and Ruby returned the affection with a gentle nuzzle. “I am the mother of the greatest filly in the whole freakin' world. Yes, I'm lucky.” Ooh, the irony of that simple statement.... it would have broken her heart if hers had still been working. “We'd prolly better go pack, huh?” Ruby asked. Berry shook her head. “We got time... you can play a while longer.” With that, Ruby ran off, and Twilight returned to whatever it was she was doing. Berry leaned up against the tree, making very certain that she didn't poke herself with any splinters. Sure, they would be too small to do any real harm; but even so, wooden splinters were very painful and were no laughing matter. She unfortunately had learned that lesson from first-hoof experience, by opening a cask of amontillado. Pulling out one of many bottles of hard liquor that she carried everywhere, she watched the two fillies play for another half hour or so. They seemed to be having a great time, and Berry Punch felt a twinge of guilt. Was she putting her filly through something she couldn't do herself? Was she, in effect, punishing Ruby for Berry's own faults? These deep thoughts were interrupted by a derisive call of “Blank flanks!” Berry Punch gave herself a mantra and tried to keep her face as goofy as normal as she pulled the bottle closer. I am a drunk pony. I am a drunk pony. I am a drunk pony. I am a drunk pony... “Wow. Still no mark, eh? No real surprise there.” “I know,” Silver Spoon added, like a good lackey. “What a waste of space.” Berry Punch would never kill another pony, and heaven forbid that pony be a foal. However, pretending for a moment that it were some theoretical alternate universe in a hypothetical situation where Berry had no morals, Diamond Tiara would be the first pony on that list. It's amazing what you notice when you're not drunk off your rocker, and Berry felt guilty that she had not noticed their relentless teasing of Ruby before. For their part, Ruby and Dinky were trying to walk away, but Diamond Tiara wouldn't have any of that. “Look at your mother. She's just sitting there, being stupid, as usual.” DrunkPonyDrunkPonyDrunkPonyDrunkPonyDrunkPony... She tried to look nonchalant by taking another drink. “Yeah, both your mothers are pretty worthless...” She tapped Ruby on the nose. “And so are you.” Before Diamond Tiara knew what had happened, Berry Punch was right next to her. “Hi!” she slurred. Diamond jumped, but quickly regained her composure. (1) She was slightly rattled again when Berry's face filled her vision. “Are you one of Pinchy's little friends?” As she spoke, she pulled the filly's face up close to hers, as if trying to get a better look, and exhaled deeply. She was rewarded by a flinch and a look of disgust and revulsion that crossed Diamond's face as the stench of alcohol overwhelmed her. Berry continued, seemingly oblivious to Diamond's discomfort. “It's nice to meet her friends.” Diamond Tiara struggled to get free, but Berry didn't let her go. Instead, she pulled her closer, in a tight hug. Berry nuzzled the squirming filly, ignoring her squeaks and hits of protest. After a few seconds of letting her struggle (even as a grown pony, she would have been stronger than the filly; with her vampony strength she could have held her captive forever), she finally let go. Diamond Tiara sniffed the air and groaned exaggeratedly. “Ugh! Now I'm going to smell like awfulness for the rest of the day, you freak!” Oh, how right she was... about the freak part, anyway. Diamond Tiara stalked off, quickly followed by Silver Spoon, their noses high in the air. Perk number three of being a vampony is strength and quickness. If your muscles don't need the oxygen, and you can't feel pain or tiredness, your speed is pretty much limited only by the speed of thought. So when Diamond Tiara looked back to shoot off one last parting shot, Berry Punch flashed her fangs. She did it so quickly that the filly wasn't sure if she had seen what she thought she saw, and so just stared wide-eyed at Berry, her previous insult completely forgotten. “Come again soon!” Berry said happily, waving good bye. Shaking her head in confusion, Diamond Tiara continued on her way. Ruby nuzzled her mother gratefully. “Thanks, mommy! You're the best!” “No, you're the best.” Berry slumped to her haunches and cocked her head in apparent confusion. “They weren't the nicest ponies, were they?” she commented. “Nope,” Ruby shook her head. “Donkey here is a much better-er friend,” she said, ruffling the other unicorn's mane. The little filly laughed. “I'm not a donkey! My name is Dinky!” “'swhat I said,” Berry said, feigning offense. Ruby and Dinky giggled as Ruby pulled her mother to her hooves. “Come on, mommy. We still have to pack.” At least Ruby's last day here in Ponyville would be a happy memory, Berry thought as she let herself be led by Ruby. She couldn't help but sigh sadly. Ruby was such a good little filly.... * * * “Did you pack your toothbrush?” “Yep!” “And clothes?” Ruby gave her mother a disparaging look. “Mommy, it's not winter.” “...I knew that.” They were interrupted by a knock on the door. “I got it!” Ruby said, bouncing over and opening it. There on the porch stood Nurse Redheart, holding a large, flat box, much longer than it was tall. “Hello, Ruby,” she greeted the filly. “Is your mom around?” “Yep! She's right here!” Ruby said happily. Berry stepped into view. Ruby couldn't see, but Berry let out a small sigh of relief. “Go finish packing,” she said. “Mommy has to talk to Nurse Redheart for a while.” “Ok. What's in the box?” Berry may have been a good bartender, with quick comebacks for anything any drunk pony could say to her; and a passable actress, with a good poker face and drunken act; but she always found it extremely difficult to lie to her daughter. “Well...” Luckily, Redheart stepped in. “You know how your mom always comes to the clinic? Well, she can't while she's in the city. So I'm giving her some materials and things so she can stop drinking so much, without me being there to help her.” Redheart knelt down until she was eye level with Ruby. “This might be a little hard on your mother, so can you promise me that you'll help her this summer?” Ruby made the motions of a Pinkie Promise. As she did so, Berry quickly scanned the room, briefly wondering if Pinkie Pie herself would be there to witness such an oath. Luckily, no such thing occurred. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen the party pony around recently... “Good! Remember, a Pinkie Promise...” “Is forever!” Ruby finished. Redheart smiled. “That's right. Now, we have to discuss some big pony things. Do you have anything else to go pack?” Ruby nodded, and scampered off. When she was gone, Redheart's horn glowed, and the silencing spell took effect. “Thanks,” Berry said. “I can't lie to her to save my life.” If Redheart had caught the irony of that sentence, she didn't show it. She just smiled her professional, helpful smile. “I do what I can.” She levitated the package over. “Here it is, just like I promised. This package is enchanted to keep the contents cool. Don't leave it in the sun or anything, but it should help keep your blood fresh. I'll send more when I can.” Berry took it and set it in the saddlebags sitting by the door. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” “Like I said, I think your body has just fallen into a rut. You need a little shock to your system, that's all.” “I hope you're right.” Berry took a deep breath. “Do you think Ruby will be ok?” Redheart nodded, more secure in her answer this time. “I do. You may try to hide it, but you're a good mother and you're always watching out for her.” She smirked, a tiny chink in her professionalism. “I heard about what you did to Diamond Tiara.” Berry started. “How did...” Redheart might have cracked a smile. “She came up to me last night, acting like she had just stepped in a pile of manticore droppings, and asked if she could get drunk off of... how did she say it? 'Berry's nauseatingly disgusting alcohol stench'.” Berry couldn't restrain a laugh. “Big words for a little filly. Well, that attitude is nothing new for her, is it?” Redheart kept a good poker face. “She's... certainly something else, isn't she? Hopefully she mellows out.” “Well, I don't think that's possible... but then again, look at what happened to me. I didn't think that was possible either.” Redheart noticed that Berry Punch had avoided the use of the term 'vampony' when describing her condition. She wouldn't tell Berry to her face, but one of her goals with this little project was that Berry would learn to accept who she was. Of course, she had enough faith in Berry that she knew nopony would wind up dead; but since step one of fixing any problem is fully acknowledging it, she figured that moving to a new place might help with her new identity. Berry took a more serious note. “So... you really think I can do this?” Redheart stepped up and gave Berry a hug. “I know you can.” “Hugs!” And both mares suddenly found themselves with a little filly wrapped happily around their forelegs. Redheart laughed lightly as she returned the gesture with one hoof and ruffled the filly's mane with the other. “You know it.” But too soon, Redheart had to return to the clinic, and Ruby had to finish packing. As the nurse left, Derpy flew up, holding a postcard. She had her eyes closed and was bopping her head in time with the music playing in her head, and didn't realize that the door was open until she was right in front of it. The mailmare blushed lightly as she met Berry's eyes, and sheepishly held out the postcard. Berry had shifted back into her acting mode, and blinked blearily, as if she were slightly hungover. She looked at the postcard but refrained from taking it; instead, she looked at the mailmare with curiosity. She knew exactly what Derpy was blushing about, but feigned ignorance. “Are you ok?” “I'm fine,” the pegasus replied. Berry sighed and brought a hoof to her face. “Was it something I did when I was drunk?” she asked, with an air of resignation. Derpy blushed harder and averted her eyes. “Well... yeah... you tried to kiss me.” Berry widened her eyes, put on a look of shock, and began to stutter. “Did I? I didn't mean to. I didn't even want to. Wait... I mean, not like I don't want to kiss you. It's not like you're ugly or... wait, I mean... I don't, you know, like mares like that. I have a daughter, you know, and so do you, so it's not like you're... I mean... not like I'm... uh... you're a pretty mare and all, but...” Berry paused, swore under her breath, grabbed the letter, and slammed the door. As soon as the door had shut, Berry dropped the awkward act and leaned up against it, ear pressed tightly to the wood. Listening carefully, she could hear Derpy as she processed what had just happened. She could almost hear the smile spread across her face. “I am a pretty mare, aren't I?” she whispered, and when she walked away from the porch, Berry could hear a skip in her step that wasn't there before. Berry smiled. She would go through a little embarrassment to make somepony else's day. She looked at the postcard, which was a very nice view of Manehattan. She cocked her head in confusion. Who did she know in Manehattan? Nopony came to mind... so she flipped it over to read the message. Berry had no idea what to make of this, and settled for sliding the card under the couch. * * * At the train station, Berry took one look back at Ponyville. This would be good bye for the summer. She tried to focus on her memories of her friends, of Redheart, of Ruby, of any of her friends she could think of, because her vampony instincts were telling her to run, to hide, being outside in daylight around so many ponies was wrong! Still, she focused on the task at hoof. She could do it. She knew she could. Maybe. She looked down at her daughter, who was looking around with wide eyes. So many ponies here! This would be a fun trip after all! Standing in the crowd, Berry Punch felt somepony brush against her saddlebag. Her sensitive hearing picked up the tell-tale sound of the latch being opened. Not wanting to be pick-pocketed here (or anywhere else, for that matter), she lashed out quickly with a back hoof. She moved so quickly that a casual observer might not have seen the hit. He collapsed, gasping for air. Fairly certain she had broken a rib, and less than desirous to be caught in that area in that situation, she gently nudged Ruby. “Come on, Pinchy. Let's see if we can get closer to the train.” She led the way, with Ruby bouncing along beside her. Not ten minutes later, they were sitting in a train car, speeding along the tracks. Ruby leaned peacefully against her mother, and Berry absentmindedly ran a hoof through her daughter's mane. Berry exhaled softly as she gazed at the scenery rushing by. 'Well,' Berry thought, 'here goes nothing.'