//------------------------------//
// Strawberry Milk 
// Story: Strawberry Milk 
// by RunicTreetops 
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"That'll be one bit!"

"Haha! I don't know how you get away with selling this stuff for just one bit!"

"It only costs me one bit to make a glass, so why would I need to sell it for more?"

"Heh. No offense, Whirl, but I don't think business is your strong suit."

"Oh, I know I could be making money from this. I just don't really want to."

"Why not?"

"Because it's fun!"

At a small stall in the Ponyville market, two ponies are having a conversation. The stall itself is crude and made of wood that has been shoddily hammered together. White chalk has been written on the front of the rudimentary stall, which reads "STRAWBERRY MILK" in childish hoofwriting. On top of the stall lies about a dozen empty glasses. Behind the stall are two buckets, one which contains several gallons of pink milk and one which contains a bunch of empty, albeit clearly used, glasses. There is also a small stool behind the stall, upon which sits a young, bright-eyed filly.

This filly is Whirligig Breeze. She's ten-and-a-half years old, and she's quite popular in this market. Her coat is a light brown color, and her puffed-up mane consists of pinks and tans that swirl together like some kind of vortex. Her tail is almost identical to her mane, and it seems to curl up naturally towards its tip. Her eyes are pink, and they sparkle with a level of joy and curiosity only a child could muster. 

She is the pony in charge of this stall, and she loves her job.

"Well, that's mighty admirable of you. It helps that this stuff is so delicious!"

The stallion standing across from her finishes off his glass with a sigh of satisfaction. He places the glass back down onto the stall, which Whirl happily takes and places into the bucket behind her.

"I'm always happy to see others happy!"

"Keep it up, Whirl!"

With a smile and a tip of his hat, the stallion gathers his belongings and walks away, eager to get on with the rest of his shopping. Whirl watches on with a grin on her face as she gets comfortable in her stool once again.

This is how she likes to spend her weekends. After school most days, she helps take care of a local dairy farm. At her own request, the owners agreed to pay her not in bits, but in milk. That way, she can get as much of the stuff as she needs without having to pay for it. Meanwhile, at her own house, her parents have given her a significant portion of their backyard to dedicate to gardening. Of course, she knew exactly what she wanted to grow as soon as she learned how to take care of plants. A few dozen bits and plenty of time and effort later, she had herself about six strawberry bushes ready to produce fruit. With a source of both milk and strawberries ready to go for mostly no cost, she's nearly ready to make her famous strawberry milk. She bought a couple dozen glasses a long time ago, and by simply asking her customers to drink the milk at the market itself so that they may return their glasses when they are done, she can ensure that she never has to buy more. The only other thing she needs is sugar, which is where the one-bit price point comes in. 

If it were up to her, she'd do it for free. After all, she wasn't lying. To her, the bits and the popularity don't really matter. All she wants is to make her favorite drink and to share that drink with others. She has so much fun making the milk, and knowing that others can enjoy the fruits of her labor is just the icing on the cake. Sure, it might be a simple hobby, but it makes her happy. And that's what really matters, right?

"Well well well, if it isn't Whirligig."

Whirl, who had been getting lost in thought, looks up from her stall to see two fillies giving her a sly smile. She knows these fillies well. After all, they're somewhat infamous at school.

"Hi, Diamond Tiara. Hello, Silver Spoon."

"Selling the same old strawberry milk, I see." Diamond Tiara approaches the stall and glances at the empty glasses before focusing entirely on Whirl herself. "I really don't understand you."

"W-why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Uh, duh!" Silver Spoon sidles up to Diamond Tiara, doing her best to replicate her friend's judgemental demeanor. "I mean, is this all you ever do? You don't even make money off of it!"

"Come on, girls. I've said it before, I don't care about getting paid."

"Even so," Diamond says while tilting her head, "if I were you, I'd be getting really bored by now."

"I mean really," Silver Spoon adds, "is this ALL you can do?"

"Well, it's what I like making. Is there a problem with that?"

"What if somepony doesn't like strawberry milk?" Diamond Tiara asks her question, her tone obviously meant to mock Whirl.

"Then they don't have to buy it."

"Well... yeah, but... what if they want to buy a drink from you anyway?"

"I'm the girl that makes strawberry milk. If they don't like strawberry milk, why would they care about buying a drink from me?"

"W-what if there aren't any other drinks nearby?"

"There are, though." Whirl gestures to the stalls around her, many of which are selling beverages of all kinds. 

"Ugh. Never mind, you're just too dense to get it. Come on, Silver Spoon." Diamond Tiara turns to walk away, but she stops when she realizes her friend isn't following her. "Hello? Equestria to Silver Spoon?"

Silver Spoon, who was staring longingly at the gallons of strawberry milk behind the stall, suddenly looks up as though she only just realized that Diamond was calling for her.

"R-right! Coming!"

The two fillies finally walk away, murmuring amongst each other at a volume too low for Whirl to hear. She sighs before scanning the nearby area. The sun is starting to go down, and it's about time for the market to close. She should probably start packing up soon.

As she quietly gathers her belongings and prepares to head home for the night, she can't help but think about what those two said. This is far from the first time they've tried to bully her. She might be naive, but she isn't foolish. She takes pride in what she does, and there's nothing they can say to stop her from feeling that pride. Most of the time, she's more than ready to brush them off with a smile on her face. That's the quickest way to deal with them, after all.

However, something about their words today struck a chord with her. Is she really happy making just strawberry milk? Like, sure, she loves doing it, but... has she ever even considered making something else for a change? How would that go? Could she do it in a manner that is as fun and fulfilling as her strawberry milk? What would she even make?

She continues to ponder these questions as she slowly makes her way down the dirt roads of Ponyville, staring at the ground all the while. A few ponies say hello and wave at her, and though she does her best to return these gestures, her dark expression makes it clear that her thoughts are elsewhere. Why is she letting the words of some bullies bother her so much? This isn't like her!

Whirl looks up from the ground, double-checking that she's going the right way. Her intuition was right: While she was lost in thought, she made a wrong turn. She starts to turn back, but just as she does, she sees something from the corner of her eye. Something that grabs her attention.

It's a peach growing from a local peach tree. The light coming from the setting sun hit it at just the right angle, causing it to look like it's almost glowing. Whirl stares at the peach for several seconds. For some reason, the whirlwind of thoughts that had been assailing her goes quiet. Slowly, a smile starts to make its way to her face.

She has an idea.





Whirl sits down on her stool, eager to start a new day. She took a brief absence from the market as she prepared for today, but now, it's finally time! Her stall is almost completely unchanged apart from one major difference: Where once there was chalk advertising her strawberry milk, there is now a piece of poster board with almost identical hoofwriting that reads "PEACH LEMONADE."

That's right, she's branching out!

It took her a lot of effort to reach this point. She didn't want to raise her price beyond one bit, but she also didn't have a readily available source of lemons. Or peaches. Or... sugar, again. That darn sugar. As a result, it took her quite some time to find ponies that were able and willing to pay her for basic labor that a child could perform with said ingredients, but luckily for her, Ponyville is both kind and resourceful.

Then, she had to go through the process of actually learning how to make peach lemonade. It's a bit more involved than strawberry milk, and she must have screwed up dozens upon dozens of times, but she's finally reached a point where she can feel proud in what she makes. Heck, it's downright delicious! And now, she's ready to share it with the world. Let the customers start flooding in!

...

...

...Uhh, where are the customers?

M-maybe it's just a slow day? Yeah, the market usually isn't all that busy on Sunday mornings. Surely she just needs to keep waiting, right?

Right?





"Ugh. You should have just stuck to strawberry milk." The stallion that had visited Whirl's stall just days before places his half-full glass back onto the stall, a look of disappointment on his face. "I can't even finish this."

"O-oh. I'm sorry, did I mess it up?"

"No, I just don't really like peach lemonade."

"W-wait. Why did you buy it then?"

"I don't know. I'm just used to your strawberry milk."

"But..."

"Anyway, I have other stops I need to make. Have a nice day, Whirl. I hope you'll be selling milk again the next time I come by."

Without another word, the stallion walks away. Whirl watches him leave while doing her best to not make a strange face. He's the fifth pony today to express their disappointment in her peach lemonade. None of them will tell her what's wrong, if anything. They just want her strawberry milk.

Of course, the fact that he's only the fifth pony today is a change in and of itself. She usually gets dozens upon dozens of customers, but the sun is about to set and almost nopony has stopped by! What did she do wrong?!

Whirl sighs. She had fun making this peach lemonade. Truly, she did. Up until now, she thought that would be enough. She always told herself, "Whirl, even if nopony wants your strawberry milk, at least you had fun making it!" And yet, now that barely anypony is even willing to glance at her stall, she can't help but feel... well, perhaps "sad" is too strong a word. "Disappointed," maybe? "Aggravated?" She doesn't really know, but either way, it doesn't feel good.

"Well well well, looks like somepony took our advice."

Whirl once again looks up from her stall to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sauntering up to her with cocky smiles on both of their faces.

"Hello, you two."

"Oh? You don't sound too happy to see us."

"Sorry. I'm just not in the best mood today."

"Why? Your little lemonade not selling well?"

"...None of your business."

Diamond Tiara snorts as she begins to laugh boisterously.

"Guess you learned the hard way, huh?! You should've just stuck to what you know!"

"I... huh?"

"Did you really think anypony cared about you?! They just wanted your strawberry milk!"

"B-but YOU were the one that said I should try branching out!"

"Hah! I was being ironic. Duh! Ahaha, oh this is too funny!" Diamond Tiara continues to laugh as she turns around and begins to walk away. It takes her a few seconds to compose herself enough to speak again. "Come on Silver Spoon, let's go home."

"...Y-yeah." Silver Spoon begins to turn around, but she stops herself. "Actually, I'll catch up to you in a bit."

"Huh?"

"S-sorry, I just remembered that my mom wanted me to pick up a few groceries for her. I-I'll see you in a bit!"

Silver Spoon scampers off, leaving Diamond Tiara alone and confused.

"Uh, okay?" With her friend now gone, Diamond simply shakes her head and storms off. "Ugh, dumb Silver Spoon."

Whirl, now alone once again. Rests her head in her hooves. She just... doesn't get it. What is she supposed to do? Does she keep making the lemonade? It was so fun to make, but nopony wants it! Should she go back to making strawberry milk? Sure, it's popular, but even she wants to take a break from it every now and then. Is there really no solution to this?

"...H-hey." Whirl lifts her head from her hooves. Her eyes widen as she sees Silver Spoon standing sheepishly in front of her stall, a single bit in her hooves. "Um... could I get a glass?"

Whirl looks at Silver Spoon in shock for a few moments before she remembers to respond.

"S-sure."

Whirl grabs one of the gallons of peach lemonade she has from the bucket behind her and fills up one of her glasses. She slides the glass to Silver Spoon, who leaves her bit on top of the stall. She looks around nervously before grabbing the glass and quickly drinking the lemonade. As soon as she's done, she places it back down onto the counter and gives Whirl an anxious smile.

"That stuff is really, really good, Whirl."

"Yeah yeah, it's... wait, really?"

"Mmhmm. Strawberry milk isn't really my thing, but this lemonade is delicious! You have a real knack for this."

"I... th-thank you."

Silver Spoon grins before her attention is quickly pulled to a stall not too far away, where Diamond Tiara is clearly jeering some other filly.

"W-well, I need to go. I'll be back some other time, okay?"

Silver Spoon runs away, leaving Whirl alone one final time. Whirl just watches silently as she rejoins her friend, and the pair quickly walks down the road, turns a corner, and disappears out of sight. Whirl looks back down at her stall, and at the now-empty glass Silver Spoon drank out of. She looks at the bit she left on the counter and slowly places it in her bag. Did that just happen? Did one of her bullies just sneak up to her stall, try her new drink, and actually compliment it?

Although it was mere moments ago, Whirl does her best to remember Silver Spoon's smile in as much detail as possible. She's the only pony all day to smile after buying her lemonade. She's the only pony to be happy that she tried something different. She's the only pony that was willing to support her.

And with that memory, Whirl smiles too. She thought she was doing this for herself. At the very least, she had fun making the peach lemonade. However, she thought it would be a hit and that she'd get to see countless smiling faces when she sold it, but when she realized that those smiling faces wouldn't come, she wondered if she was really being true to herself. Could she honestly say that this was all for her own sake? What's the point in doing this if no one cares?

But now, she remembers that smile, that single, solitary smile. Someone likes her peach lemonade. Someone is happier because she made it.

And that's all she needs.