Pinkie Pie was watching over foals in Ponyville while their parents were away at work, they played outside while she threw gumballs at them and the foals chewed them, they were extremely sweet and they blew big bubbles, they competed over who could blow the biggest bubble and laughed. Pinkie Pie smiled while she watched the foals have fun and she looked to see if she had anymore candy to give them, she found packs of hard candy and threw them around, the foals cheered while they picked up, unwrapped, and ate the candies, their parents came afterwards,
"Thank you as always, Pinkie Pie." a Pegasus stallion said,
"You're welcome, your children were well behaved today as always." Pinkie Pie replied, they smiled and paid her bits and they left, Pinkie Pie kept smiling until they no longer looked at her and she frowned, she turned around and walked back into Sugarcube Corner. She arrived back and then looked at a picture of a mare and a filly, they were earth ponies, the mare had an olive coat, long black mane and tail, dark brown eyes, and her cutie mark was a pink heart, the filly had a light pink coat, long red mane and tail, turquoise eyes, and her cutie mark was a white sheet of paper with music notes on it, the mare was Love Giver and the filly was Woodwind, they were mother and daughter, Pinkie Pie began to remember them with a wistful expression and hoped they were okay.
Pinkie Pie was walking through Equestria and enjoying the summer breeze, she arrived at a poor small town and saw the foals were playing in the slums and running around, she smiled while seeing them have fun and walked past them, she set up a candy shop and the foals ran to her to buy things, some foals got candies other foals wanted and they began fighting one another,
"Hey! No fighting!" Pinkie Pie ordered, the foals continued beating up one another and Pinkie Pie walked to them, she grabbed and snatched the candies,
"If you all are going to argue and fight one another over the sweets, there will be no sweets at all." Pinkie Pie said sternly, the foals behaved and bought her sweets one at a time,
"There, that's more like it, stay that way, and everything will be fine." Pinkie Pie spoke, and they foals ate her sweets and candies. Pinkie Pie smiled and the foals went back to playing after finishing their snacks, she watched their mothers come pick them up and noticed one mare walking by herself with no foal, she entered a bar and Pinkie Pie looked in, there was many customers there drinking and she went downstairs without anybody paying attention to her, Pinkie Pie entered and trotted after her. She entered an abandoned room and saw a filly walking to her,
"Welcome home, mommy." the filly said,
"I'd rather you not call me that, Woodwind." the mare remarked,
"Why not?" Woodwind asked,
"We've been through this, I didn't intend to have you, you were only a result of me doing my job, I did not plan to have a child in my life ever." the mare explained,
"So you don't love me?" Woodwind questioned,
"I do, it's just... me having you was completely unplanned." the mare responded,
"Oh." Woodwind said,
"You've been practicing your music instruments?" the mare asked,
"Hmm-mm, I've been improving on playing the flute." Woodwind stated,
"Let's hear it." the mare spoke, and she sat while Woodwind got it. She began playing a song while Pinkie Pie listened and the mare watched with a bored expression, she played while messing up several notes and stopped early due to pain on her lips, Pinkie Pie clapped while the two looked at her,
"Whoo-hoo! That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie blurted,
"Wha? How did you get in here?" the mare inquired,
"I just happen to see you here and got curious." Pinkie Pie answered,
"Um... this is our living quarters." Woodwind remarked,
"Shhh, don't say that, Woodwind, we can get thrown out onto the streets." the mare spoke,
"Oh, don't worry, my lips are sealed on that, I promise." Pinkie Pie said,
"You don't look like you're from around here." Woodwind stated,
"I just came here a few minutes ago." Pinkie Pie replied,
"Oh, no wonder why you didn't know." the mare spoke,
"I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way, you all are..." Pinkie Pie said,
"Love Giver." the mare responded,
"Woodwind." Woodwind stated,
"I just set up shop here, I'm selling sweets, candies, desserts, and confectioneries, I plan and throw parties, too, birthday parties are my specialty." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"I'm playing woodwind instruments since they gave me my cutie mark, flute is my favorite, mommy here is doing a job she hates so she can make me enough money for me to take lessons and become a professional." Woodwind explained,
"Truth be told, it's a job I've been doing before Woodwind was even born, I'm working more now to support her and try to give her money to have a good future." Love Giver said,
"I can always use help at my booth on baking and selling." Pinkie Pie offered,
"I'm already busy, so Woodwind will have to do it if she doesn't feel like practicing." Love Giver responded,
"That's fine, I'll pay you two, too." Pinkie Pie responded, Woodwind smiled,
"Go on now, we'll be kicked out onto the streets if we're found here." Love Giver said,
"Got it, I'll see you two later." Pinkie Pie responded, and she left. Pinkie Pie looked around and saw adult ponies everywhere and drinking drinks she did not notice but did not look like they were for children, she quickly trotted out and went back to her booth, she baked and made her next batch of sweets and desserts, she saw foals were still fighting one another for the sweets they bought from her and stealing from each other, her eyes widened and she quickly hid her sweets and closed the shop for the day, she did not see anybody come and she slept when nighttime came.
Pinkie Pie slept soundly until she was suddenly woken up by a bunch of clattering, she opened her eyes and saw the foals have broken into her cart and were stealing her sweets and desserts, she sprung up while screaming and the foals ran away while she looked from her booth and screamed again. She looked back and saw all of her ingredients have been stolen alongside everything she made and baked last night, she seethed loudly while her face turned red and steam came out of her ears, she screamed in a distorted voice with fire coming out of her mouth and she dashed after the thieves while destroying part of her booth. The foals conversed and ate the sweets they stole but stopped when they heard fast running from behind, they looked and saw a pink trail and white dust flying everywhere, they saw Pinkie Pie and she growled in a distorted voice with fire coming out of her nostrils and mouth. She rammed into the foals and held them down while snorting and they looked at her fearfully,
"Give back the sweets you stole!" Pinkie Pie demanded in her distorted voice while huffs of fire came out of her nostrils, the foals became fearful but did not hand over the sweets they stole,
"Hand them over or I blacklist and ban you all from my shop!" Pinkie Pie threatened, and they handed them to her slowly,
"Good, I won't be so nice next time." Pinkie Pie remarked, and she walked back. She rearranged her stolen sweets and noticed some of them have already been eaten, she exhaled sharply and began baking again, she grumbled while making new candies and she heard walking, she turned around while scowling but stopped when she saw it was Woodwind,
"Is something wrong, Pinkie Pie?" Woodwind asked,
"My stuff were stolen this morning, so I now have to make everything again." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Can I help?" Woodwind requested,
"You here to work?" Pinkie Pie asked, Woodwind nodded,
"Great, come on back then, I'll show you the ropes and how to put items on display." Pinkie Pie said, Woodwind smiled and walked to her. Pinkie Pie taught her how to make hard candy and how to make them into small pieces to be put in wrappers, Woodwind got the steps mixed up and Pinkie Pie corrected her, they worked together and Pinkie Pie smiled at seeing Woodwind learn quickly and finished before it was time for her to open,
"Good job, Woodwind, hopefully, the foals will be better behaved this time." Pinkie Pie remarked,
"This is a seedy town from what I've heard from my mom and travelers, they said this place is poor and crime ridden when compared to most of Equestria, too." Woodwind responded,
"It is." Pinkie Pie said,
"Oh, hopefully, mommy and I can move somewhere safer and more peaceful after she makes enough money to leave." Woodwind stated,
"I hope so, too, here's your payment, by the way." Pinkie Pie replied, and she gave her fifteen bits,
"Thank you, this is the first time I ever made my own money." Woodwind chirped,
"Well, I'm about to open shop, I'll pay you more if you manage to sell something." Pinkie Pie replied, and she did. The foals came and they behaved while buying things, they looked at Pinkie Pie nervously while they bought things from Woodwind and no one conversed with her,
"You don't have any friends here?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Not really, I rarely interact with anypony here, I don't attend school either." Woodwind responded,
"It's because your mom's too poor and works as a lowlife who will be more than friends with any stallion she meets." one filly remarked, the others laughed while Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped,
"What do you mean?" Woodwind questioned,
"Your mom never told you about her job?" a colt asked,
"No, she never says anything about work." Woodwind responded,
"Woodwind, your mom's job is hard for kids to understand, kids your age usually don't understand until they're maybe in their teenage or young adult years, too." Pinkie Pie explained,
"What can you tell me about it?" Woodwind asked,
"Woodwind, trust me, you would be horrified if you learned how bad and dangerous your mom's line of work can be and what she has to do daily." Pinkie Pie replied,
"How dangerous?" Woodwind questioned,
"Any day can be the last day you ever see her." Pinkie Pie answered, Woodwind's eyes widened,
"Well, anyway, come on, let's not keep our customers waiting." Pinkie Pie stated, and they began selling, the foals avoided Pinkie Pie and reluctantly bought from Woodwind, some tried to taunt and make fun of her and her mother but stopped when they saw Pinkie Pie standing behind her and glaring at them, they bought the candies and baked goods silently and left quickly. Pinkie Pie split the money in half and gave one half to Woodwind, she smiled widely and hugged the bits close to herself,
"I was happy when I made my first bits, too." Pinkie Pie remarked, and Woodwind trotted back home, Pinkie Pie made her next batch to sell tomorrow and locked all of them away securely, she looked around and did not see anybody spying on her, she watched the adult ponies pass by and kept her guard up when she saw several of them eyeing her as they passed by, she saw Love Giver pass by without paying attention to her and went to the bar, Pinkie Pie quickly locked and secured her sweets and took her money with her and followed her to the bar and where she and Woodwind lived.
She entered and saw Woodwind show Love Giver the money she made today and Love Giver smiled, she stored it away with the rest of her money and Woodwind began playing her oboe, Pinkie Pie swayed back and forth while she listened but cringed when she heard several squeaks from Woodwind playing, she took a break after practicing for about thirty minutes and her lips hurt, she sighed while Love Giver patted and rubbed her head and went to go sleep while Woodwind also slept, Pinkie Pie went back to her booth and got her instruments and sheet music ready and then slept.
The next morning came and Pinkie Pie checked everything and made sure nothing was stolen, she smiled when she saw everything was in place and opened her shop for the day, the foals came to buy her candies and desserts and everything went smoothly, they left and Woodwind came about an hour later,
"Sorry, Woodwind, but I'm done selling for now." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Aw, I just finished practicing playing my clarinet, too." Woodwind lamented,
"You're coming here to take a break?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Uh-huh, this is a nice change to having to play all day." Woodwind responded,
"That reminds me, I heard you making squeaks when playing your oboe yesterday." Pinkie Pie remarked,
"Oh, sorry about that, I'm still a beginner." Woodwind said,
"It's okay, I play instruments, too, I can teach you how to play properly." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Really?" Woodwind asked, Pinkie Pie dashed and came back with her ten instruments, Woodwind's jaw dropped,
"Wow!" Woodwind exclaimed, Pinkie Pie began playing all ten instruments at once while Woodwind watched in awe, the ponies covered their ears' and some threw vegetables at her, she continued playing and Woodwind danced to the music. She enjoyed Pinkie Pie's music and swayed back and forth while smiling, she finished after about seven minutes of playing,
"Ta-da!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, Woodwind clapped her hoofs,
"That was amazing, I've never seen a pony play ten instruments at once." Woodwind said,
"I can teach you how to improve your own playing if you wish." Pinkie Pie offered,
"I don't have enough money for that." Woodwind lamented,
"No, no, this one's on the house." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Really?" Woodwind asked with her eyes widening, Pinkie Pie nodded while smiling,
"Thank you, I can start now." Woodwind spoke,
"Alright then, go ahead and bring your instruments." Pinkie Pie instructed, and Woodwind left. Pinkie Pie waited and watched for anybody who wanted to buy things or try to steal from her, Woodwind arrived with her instruments, she had a flute, a piccolo, an oboe, a clarinet, a recorder, and a bassoon,
"Okay, let's hear you play each one a little." Pinkie Pie stated, and Woodwind played the flute first, she played almost perfectly until she got to a high note and could not play it, she tried and a squeak came out, Pinkie Pie looked and readjusted Woodwind's lips, she blew hard again and almost produced the right sound, Pinkie Pie instructed her to keep going and she did, she stopped for a minute to look at the sheet music and Pinkie Pie walked to her, she saw her looking at a music note she has never seen before and Pinkie Pie instructed her on how to play it, she blew into the flute but could not play the note, she put it down and panted while her lips and mouth hurt. She rested while Pinkie Pie examined Woodwind's instruments and made sure they worked properly, she put them down and Woodwind played the piccolo next. She played the notes and made more squeaks with it than with the flute, Pinkie Pie readjusted Woodwind's lips and moved her hoofs around to play the right notes, she kept blowing but could not play the high notes and put it down. She sighed and began playing the oboe next, she played well with a few squeaks here and there but she played well overall, Pinkie Pie instructed her to relax her shoulders a bit and she played better, she finished the sheet music and took a break while Pinkie Pie clapped. Woodwind rested for ten minutes and she played her clarinet next, she made several squeaking sounds and Pinkie Pie corrected her posture and showed her how to make her lips for playing the instrument, she played better while Pinkie Pie helped her play the higher notes by showing her how to blow and Woodwind finished after about twenty minutes. She played the recorder next and played the sheet music perfectly, Pinkie Pie taught her how to play faster and still played the music perfectly, she then put it down while smiling and played the bassoon next. Woodwind had trouble holding it and Pinkie Pie readjusted her, she held it and began playing and had trouble, Pinkie Pie moved her hoofs around to play the right notes and showed her with her mouth how to play it properly and how to breathe, she had trouble playing and her mouth and tongue began to hurt, she put it down and panted while Pinkie Pie clapped,
"Not bad, we need to work on your playing and proper forms though." Pinkie Pie said,
"So, which one do we work on first?" Woodwind asked,
"The bassoon, that's easily your weak spot." Pinkie Pie answered,
"That's the instrument I dislike playing the most, though." Woodwind lamented,
"I'll try to make it fun, but as for today, that's all, go ahead and rest for now." Pinkie Pie spoke, and Woodwind went home while carrying her instruments, Pinkie Pie saw no customers for the rest of the day and locked her supplies and money away and slept. Pinkie Pie heard walking and woke up in the middle of the night, she saw Love Giver walking late and she had a black eye and a red mark on her cheek, she watched worriedly while she walked to her living quarters, she arrived and Woodwind was playing the bassoon while seeing Love Giver enter,
"You're late, mommy." Woodwind remarked,
"Don't remind me." Love Giver scolded,
"Mommy! Your eye and your cheek! What happened?" Woodwind inquired,
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Love Giver responded quickly,
"But mommy..." Woodwind stated,
"Forget it, Woodwind, you wouldn't understand my job even if I explained why I have these." Love Giver responded, Woodwind's jaw dropped,
"It's late, Woodwind, I'm tired, and it's past your bedtime, get some rest." Love Giver said,
"I stayed up because I was worried about you." Woodwind explained,
"I'm fine, Woodwind, come on, let's get some sleep." Love Giver spoke, and Woodwind laid down, Love Giver kissed her on her forehead and went to go sleep, Pinkie Pie smiled and went back to her booth and slept.
The next day came and Woodwind arrived early, she and Pinkie Pie tended to the customers and managed to sell things with no problems, Woodwind then got her bassoon out and Pinkie Pie got her own. She showed her how to play it and Woodwind tried to mimic her, she watched Pinkie Pie's mouth and hoof movements and tried to play the notes she played, she could not play the high notes while Pinkie Pie tried to show her how to form her lips, she tried but could not play the notes, she struggled and took the bassoon's mouthpiece out of her mouth and panted,
"You wanna practice some more?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"No, I'll stop here." Woodwind replied,
"Tell you what, why don't you play your best instrument and I'll see if I can help you improve." Pinkie Pie suggested,
"Sure." Woodwind responded, and she got her flute while Pinkie Pie pulled one out of her tail. They played and Woodwind still had a hard time playing the higher notes, she copied Pinkie Pie and managed to play the high notes for a second and hurt her lips, she rested for a short time and resumed playing. They played a song together while Pinkie Pie hit the high notes perfectly, Woodwind played what she could and noticed Pinkie Pie still had a little trouble playing the highest notes, other ponies came and paid them money while playing, they smiled and played more. They played music in sync and the adult ponies put money on Pinkie Pie's booth, Woodwind took her flute off of her mouth after playing for forty minutes and exhaled sharply, she stopped and the adult ponies clapped,
"Thank you, that's all for today." Pinkie Pie spoke, and they left,
"Wow, I never made money by playing music before." Woodwind stated,
"It's common throughout Equestria, street performers put on shows and play music to make money." Pinkie Pie answered,
"That's cool, I wouldn't like doing that for a living though." Woodwind remarked,
"Well, you can always learn new stuff as you get older, Woodwind, maybe you'll find something nice to do as you live your life out." Pinkie Pie stated,
"I hope so." Woodwind spoke,
"Well, go on, that's all for today." Pinkie Pie said, Woodwind smiled and left. Pinkie Pie put her instruments away and went back to selling sweets and baked goods, adult ponies began coming over and buying from her, she smiled since they were much friendlier than the foals, they paid her and bought her things with no problems, she smiled and then began baking new batches for tomorrow, she finished and then locked everything away and went to go check on Woodwind. She went to their living quarters and saw Love Giver looking at Woodwind's money,
"Where did you get this?" Love Giver inquired,
"I was just playing with Pinkie Pie and other ponies just came by and gave us money by chance." Woodwind explained,
"What? You just practice for a few hours and you make more money than I do in a day. It should be me making more money." Love Giver grumbled,
"I can try to buy things to improve our living conditions, mommy." Woodwind suggested,
"No, it's fine, you should save up that money so you can take professional lessons on playing your instruments." Love Giver responded,
"Pinkie Pie has been helping me improve for free." Woodwind spoke,
"I don't think she's a professional player, though." Love Giver remarked,
"But she is helping me improve." Woodwind spoke,
"That's good, keep playing and making money, the faster we can leave this place, the better." Love Giver stated,
"Right." Woodwind replied,
"Well, off to bed now." Love Giver said, and Woodwind laid in her bed and Love Giver kissed her forehead, Pinkie Pie went back to her booth and slept.
The next morning came and Pinkie Pie checked everything to make sure nothing was stolen, she saw Love Giver and hopped to her,
"Love Giver, fancy seeing you here." Pinkie Pie said,
"Don't follow me to work, my boss isn't going to like it, he will force you to work for him, too." Love Giver warned,
"I'll be going before you start your job." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Oh, what do you want then?" Love Giver asked,
"Why did you remain in this town all of this time?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"I was going to leave, but I suddenly got pregnant and had to spend my money to get ready to take care of Woodwind, I wasn't happy, but I couldn't leave Woodwind broke and homeless since her father skipped town before I discovered I was pregnant." Love Giver explained,
"What's Woodwind's daddy like?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"A deadbeat, good-for-nothing loser, he was a jerk, too, he skipped town once when he learned I was pregnant, Woodwind wants to meet him and get to know him, but I have to tell her not to because he's not going to be happy and I don't know what he's going to do to her." Love Giver explained,
"Where did he go?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Don't know, don't care." Love Giver replied,
"I think Woodwind should at least meet her father once." Pinkie Pie stated,
"I'd rather not, he wasn't a nice person when I had him as a client." Love Giver remarked,
"Were you... um... you know..." Pinkie Pie said,
"If you're referring to what I think you're referring to, no, I was beaten by him, he didn't pay me, either." Love Giver stated, Pinkie Pie's eyes widened,
"You should get going, my boss is up ahead." Love Giver stated,
"Okay, stay safe." Pinkie Pie responded, and Love Giver walked forward while Pinkie Pie walked back. She sold her candies and baked goods to anybody who came while Woodwind came to help her, they sold everything and Pinkie Pie then began helping Woodwind on playing her instruments, they played the bassoon first and then played the clarinet afterwards, she had trouble and took a break, they played the oboe next and Woodwind continued to have some trouble, they decided to stop after a while and they played the piccolo next, onlookers were satisfied and gave them money, they played the recorder next and they were given more money, they played the flute next and made lots of money and finished practicing for the day,
"You're getting better, but there is still some room for improvement." Pinkie Pie said,
"Did you have professional lessons in playing instruments, Pinkie Pie?" Woodwind asked,
"Nope, I'm entirely self taught." Pinkie Pie answered,
"Wow, you almost play like an expert." Woodwind exclaimed,
"Trial and error, Woodwind." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Still, wow, well, I'll be going home now." Woodwind spoke,
"Alright, see you later." Pinkie Pie responded, and Woodwind walked home. Pinkie Pie cleaned her booth and began baking tomorrow's batch, she heard walking and looked back and became surprised when she saw Love Giver coming,
"You still open?" Love Giver asked,
"You willing to pay?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Yes." Love Giver replied,
"I'll make an exception with you then, go ahead and pick out whatever you like." Pinkie Pie stated,
"Hmm, what would Woodwind like?" Love Giver asked,
"You're buying something for her?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"Hmm-mm, I usually don't buy her treats or gifts, but I think she would like one every once in a while." Love Giver responded,
"Well, I haven't seen her eyeing anything when she's practicing with me. Tell you what, let's try these, gummy fruits, they're popular with foals." Pinkie Pie said, Love Giver paid for them and went home, Pinkie Pie then locked everything away and slept.
The next day came and she woke up early, she yawned and put all her batch of sweets out on display, Woodwind arrived and she helped her sell her things, they sold everything and Pinkie Pie split the money in half and gave it to Woodwind. They played their instruments and Woodwind was improving on playing every instrument and played longer, the ponies paid more money and cheered when Pinkie Pie began playing more than one instrument simultaneously, the ponies paid more money and Pinkie Pie switched between which instruments she played while playing the same song and the ponies clapped. Woodwind watched in awe and bewilderment at seeing Pinkie Pie switch between instruments on a whim and play the same song without sounding out of sync, she stopped playing while watching and speechless, Pinkie Pie finished the song and the ponies clapped and cheered loudly,
"How did you do that?" Woodwind questioned,
"Years of practice and experience." Pinkie Pie responded,
"I don't think I'll be able to do that." Woodwind stated,
"You might, never say never, Woodwind." Pinkie Pie replied,
"I'll keep practicing, but I'm tired." Woodwind said,
"Figured, we practiced long today, go ahead and rest now." Pinkie Pie spoke, and Woodwind went home. Pinkie Pie began baking her next batch of sweets while everybody went on with their days and nothing happened, she smiled when she finished her last thing to bake and locked everything away so they do not get stolen, she also looked up to make sure no one was watching her and seeing where she stored her things. She watched and looked for Love Giver but did not see her until the sun set and she walked home at night, she saw bruises on her face and she was rubbing them, she trotted to her,
"You okay?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"Don't ask me about my job." Love Giver responded,
"I'm just checking to make sure you're alright." Pinkie Pie said,
"I'm fine, the pain will likely be gone tomorrow." Love Giver replied,
"You'll worry your daughter though." Pinkie Pie reminded,
"I realize that, that reminds me, Pinkie Pie, if my job requires me to leave this place to see a client or I lose my life, I want you to look over my daughter, the others here sure won't." Love Giver requested,
"Of course, Woodwind has been very good and her practicing at playing music is improving drastically." Pinkie Pie responded,
"I noticed, I can tell when she plays at home that she's playing longer and better." Love Giver spoke,
"How much more money do you two need?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"A lot, professional music lessons are crazy expensive." Love Giver replied,
"I figured, maybe I should give Woodwind more money then." Pinkie Pie said,
"I'd appreciate that, but do what you wish." Love Giver responded, and she went to her living quarters while Pinkie Pie went back to her booth and slept.
The next day came and she saw Woodwind has already arrived, they put everything on display and sold all of the sweets while Pinkie Pie gave her all of the money,
"What?" Woodwind asked,
"I insist." Pinkie Pie stated,
"But what about you?" Woodwind questioned,
"I'll be fine, trust me, this isn't the first time I've been broke." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Well, if you say so." Woodwind remarked, and they began playing music again. Everybody came and paid Pinkie Pie lots of money over her playing while Woodwind got nothing, she began to play worse while noticing Pinkie Pie was getting all of the money, her playing worsened while Pinkie Pie ignored the onlookers and just played whatever she wanted, they finished and everybody cheered,
"Thank you! That's all for today, everypony!" Pinkie Pie announced, and they left. Pinkie Pie gave all of the money to Woodwind while she had a sad expression,
"Woodwind, what's wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"They're only paying to see you." Woodwind responded,
"Now, now, Woodwind, I've been playing a lot longer than you, so of course I'm going to be better, but it's not about the money, it's about your passion and desire to be the best." Pinkie Pie stated,
"But I can't play to my fullest potential unless I have money to afford professional lessons." Woodwind reminded,
"Right, until then, keep playing and try to invent your own style." Pinkie Pie advised,
"Make my own style, you say?" Woodwind asked,
"Uh-huh, and once when you take professional lessons and finish them, you can combine them with your own unique style and make something truly amazing." Pinkie Pie responded,
"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea, I'll continue playing then." Woodwind spoke, Pinkie Pie smiled and she headed home. Pinkie Pie made tomorrow's batch of sweets and noticed Love Giver walking home with more red marks on her face, she followed her and went into her living quarters, she got a pot out from the back of the room and opened it and put gruel in two bowls. They ate slowly with old wooden spoons and Woodwind did not like the flavor, they ate and then drank water out of cracked wooden bowls,
"Mommy, what were your living conditions like when you were my age?" Woodwind asked,
"No different from now." Love Giver replied,
"What? You've lived like this all of your life?" Woodwind questioned,
"Yes, I'm not happy about it either, I couldn't get an education, either, so here I am stuck doing what your grandmother did for a living." Love Giver responded,
"I wanna live in better conditions, mommy." Woodwind lamented,
"I do, too, and if I didn't get pregnant and had you, I would've been living in a middle-class home right now, having you put those plans on hold, I sacrificed all of my money to feed you and take care of you." Love Giver replied,
"Did you wanna live like royalty?" Woodwind asked,
"It would be nice, but someone as poor as us would likely never rise that high, I'm happy as long as we move into a middle-class home and neighborhood." Love Giver answered,
"I'd like that." Woodwind commented,
"Let's keep doing what we're doing then." Love Giver replied, and they finished their dinner and washed everything in a bucket filled with dirty water and put them elsewhere, they then slept and Pinkie Pie went back to her booth and slept.
The next day came and Woodwind was already at her booth and putting everything on display, Pinkie Pie smiled while she fixed the ones Woodwind got wrong, the ponies bought them but only gave the money to Pinkie Pie, they began playing instruments again and Pinkie Pie was given money,
"Alright, Woodwind, solo time!" Pinkie Pie announced, and she played but the ponies left when she began playing, she stopped and looked on in shock,
"Come on, Woodwind, let's keep practicing." Pinkie Pie instructed, and they did and Pinkie Pie got paid a lot of money, they finished and Pinkie Pie gave Woodwind all of the money after everybody was gone. They began working together with baking tomorrow's batch of sweets to sell and Pinkie Pie guided Woodwind through the harder things and did the cutting when they had to use knives, she let Woodwind do small and easy cuts while she did the ones that required cutting dough to make them the shape of inanimate objects,
"Ooh, I've never seen sweets and desserts cut and shaped like flowers before." Woodwind remarked,
"It's kind of common in some places, desserts are shaped to look like hearts, flowers, or any other objects for visual appeal." Pinkie Pie explained,
"Interesting." Woodwind stated, and they continued making the next batch of sweets until they were done and Woodwind headed home, Pinkie Pie then laid in her booth and slept.
The next morning came and she sold her sweets without Woodwind, she also did not come to play music, she got a bad feeling and went to check on her, she entered her living quarters and saw her and Love Giver arguing,
"I've said it many times, Woodwind, your father is a deadbeat loser, he's not going to be happy to see you." Love Giver stated,
"But I wanna meet him." Woodwind begged,
"I don't know where he's at now, he didn't say anything about where he went after he skipped town." Love Giver spoke,
"Can I at least have his name?" Woodwind requested,
"Ugh, fine, Freeloader." Love Giver answered,
"Thank you, mommy." Woodwind stated, and she began to leave while Pinkie Pie dashed back. She began selling her sweets and she noticed Woodwind did not come, she saw her in the distance with a paper and some of the money she got from working with Pinkie Pie, she walked back home a few minutes later while Pinkie Pie focused on selling her baked sweets to everybody and they left. Pinkie Pie watched for anything that looked out of place and the train stopped in the town, an earth pony stallion got off, he had a pale yellow coat, long unkempt pale gray mane and tail, and his cutie mark was a red couch, he was overweight and covered in sweat,
"*sigh* Can't believe I'm back in this dump again." the stallion grumbled, and he walked forward and Woodwind trotted to him,
"Excuse me." Woodwind said, the stallion glared at her,
"Um, are you Freeloader?" Woodwind asked,
"Yes, I am, what do you want? Make it quick." the stallion snapped,
"Oh, um, I'm Woodwind, your daughter." Woodwind answered, Freeloader glared at her extremely sharply,
"Did you write that letter?" Freeloader questioned, Woodwind nodded nervously, Freeloader punched her in her cheek and she yelped while she fell and Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped,
"I had to waste my time and energy for this?! Some stupid foal from some mare I loved long ago wanting see me?! I had to cancel a date with another mare today because of you!" Freeloader thundered,
"Please, daddy..." Woodwind begged,
"Don't call me daddy! I have no reason to look after you, you're just a mistake I made from a time where I became infatuated with a mare." Freeloader remarked, Woodwind's jaw dropped,
"Out of my way." Freeloader ordered as he shoved her aside and went to the bar. Pinkie Pie saw Freeloader go to where Love Giver lived and he began destroying everything and began taking all of the money he found, Pinkie Pie dashed to him and tried to restrain him but he threw her off and began to leave,
"Thief!" a stallion in the bar called out, there was a racket upstairs and Freeloader grunted while many ponies restrained him, it got quiet and Pinkie Pie went up. She saw Freeloader being restrained and ponies taking the stuff he tried to steal, Love Giver and Woodwind came in with other ponies,
"What's going on here?" Love Giver asked, she stopped when she saw Freeloader,
"You! To think you would come back to haunt me years later." Freeloader fumed,
"What?" Love Giver asked,
"I called him here, mommy." Woodwind confessed,
"You what?" Love Giver exclaimed,
"I had to waste my time and money to come here because of your offspring, you two owe me food and money!" Freeloader responded,
"If you want those, you have to work for them." Love Giver remarked,
"No, I don't! I was born into a middle-class family, having to work for a living like you lower-class filth is beneath me!" Freeloader fumed,
"Um, I'm middle-class and I have to work for a living." Pinkie Pie responded,
"SILENCE!!" Freeloader yelled as he tried to punch her and she ducked under it,
"Get your hoofs off of me." Freeloader remarked and he threw the ponies off and stomped to the train station,
"What? Isn't anypony going to report or arrest him?" Pinkie Pie inquired,
"This town doesn't work that way, there is no law enforcement here, we carry out our justices and punishments here." the bartender explained,
"Why isn't anypony punishing him then?" Pinkie Pie questioned,
"He didn't harm anypony seriously or take a life, he just stole things that can be replaceable by working, buying, or trading." a mare responded, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped, Love Giver and Woodwind went into their living quarters while Pinkie Pie followed them. She saw Love Giver look at her things and saw everything was broken, Woodwind gasped when she saw Freeloader has broken her instruments, Love Giver looked at where she kept her money and saw it was gone,
"I warned you! This is why I said not to contact your father! We're broke now because of you!" Love Giver fumed,
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to meet him just once." Woodwind explained frantically,
"Well, thanks to you, we got our money stolen, we have to work more now to make up for it! I have to pay the bartender to fix damages, too! We can be kicked out and homeless now! He also broke your instruments too so you can't play, I paid good money to get those for you!" Love Giver thundered,
"I didn't know he'd act like that, I was hoping he would be happy to see me." Woodwind stated,
"Well, he wasn't, you angered him, don't contact him again, he'll likely be worse if he comes back next time." Love Giver stated, Woodwind sweated while watching Love Giver glare at her,
"What? What are you so scared of?" Love Giver asked,
"Please don't hit me." Woodwind begged, Pinkie Pie had a shocked expression and ran over and hugged Woodwind,
"Love Giver, please don't, Woodwind didn't know better." Pinkie Pie stated,
"What are you doing here?" Love Giver inquired,
"I just wanted to make sure Woodwind was okay." Pinkie Pie answered,
"Oh, she's fine, she's lucky Freeloader didn't beat her." Love Giver remarked,
"Actually, he punched her when he first arrived." Pinkie Pie spoke while Woodwind tightened her own muscles,
"Not surprising, he was always a violent and ill tempered man. You okay, Woodwind?" Love Giver asked, Woodwind nodded,
"Go ahead and stay home if you want to, Woodwind, I have to go to work now." Love Giver responded, and she left,
"You wanna take a break from practicing today?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"No, I'll go." Woodwind replied, and they walked to Pinkie Pie's booth together. They exited the room and stopped when they saw the bartender standing in front of them and Love Giver,
"Have you all been living in there the whole time?" the bartender inquired,
"Please, don't throw us out, we have no home." Woodwind begged,
"This isn't a hotel, I want you all out, now, and get your belongings." the bartender ordered,
"But..." Woodwind said,
"It's no use, Woodwind, we'll just have to find somewhere else to stay." Love Giver said,
"You two can stay at my booth." Pinkie Pie spoke,
"Oh, thank you, Pinkie Pie, I was worried we would be on the streets." Woodwind stated,
"Give me all of your money at the end of the day, I'll be using that along with my own money to pay somepony to repair the damages done to my bar." the bartender stated,
"Do we have a deadline?" Love Giver asked,
"No, just make enough money so I can fix the bar, you can use your money however you wish afterwards." the bartender responded,
"Alright, let's get on with our days, Woodwind." Love Giver stated, and they got their things out of the room and headed to Pinkie Pie's booth and Love Giver then went to work.
They began selling batches of sweets while Woodwind struggled to focus and thought about Freeloader, she spaced out and Pinkie Pie called her name to bring her back to reality, she sold the sweets but only Pinkie Pie was paid, they finished after all of the sweets were sold out and Pinkie Pie gave Woodwind her instruments to practice with while switching out the mouthpieces for clean ones. Woodwind tried to play the flute but could not focus, she thought more about Freeloader and closed her eyes with tears falling out, Pinkie Pie noticed and Woodwind's playing worsened, she took the flute off of Woodwind's mouth,
"Woodwind, I think it's best if you go ahead and finish for today." Pinkie Pie stated, and she sat at the booth. Pinkie Pie watched the ponies pass by her and she and Woodwind began baking her next batch of sweets to sell tomorrow, she saw Love Giverwalking much later than normal and watched her, she gave her money to the bartender and came to the booth, she took the money Woodwind and Pinkie Pie made and gave it to the bartender, she arrived at the booth and had dinner and with them and all three of them slept in separate sleeping bags.
Woodwind and Love Giver worked longer than usual for about three weeks and they paid all of the money to the bartender until he could afford someone to fix the damages, Pinkie Pie let Woodwind practice with her instruments for another month until they had enough money to buy Woodwind new instruments, she played and Pinkie Pie smiled while seeing she was improving and playing longer, she stayed in the area for about six more weeks and Love Giver and Woodwind had enough money to move out,
"Well, Pinkie Pie, mommy and I are moving, we're leaving this place for a middle-class town." Woodwind reported,
"Will you two be okay?" Pinkie Pie asked,
"We'll see, I'll have to wait for things to settle down, I've got to get a job, too, we'll write to you after we get something going." Love Giver spoke,
"Okay, I'll be waiting, good luck, you two." Pinkie Pie stated, and they hugged her, Pinkie Pie then took a picture of them with a camera and they left. Pinkie Pie baked and sold sweets in the meantime and she got her first letter from Love Giver and Woodwind a month later, she read they were fine and Love Giver was now working as a mane and tail stylist and the job paid more and she worked shorter hours, Woodwind was now attending school while taking professional music lessons at home from music players that Love Giver paid, she was playing much better and has made many friends at her new home, Pinkie Pie smiled and put her letter away, she continued getting letters weekly that were about Woodwind improving on her playing, she eventually made enough money and announced she was leaving, no one reacted and she just left while everybody just got on with their days.
Pinkie Pie finished reminiscing and put the picture down, she decided to check on them and wrote a letter asking how they were and gave it to Derpy, she got a letter from Woodwind the next day and read it,
"Dear, Pinkie Pie,
Mommy and I are doing well, she is still a mane and tail stylist and I am now in a marching band and playing the flute, I still play the other instruments back at home, I am currently third chair for flute players in the band and am still practicing in hopes of becoming first chair one day. I miss playing with you, I still can't switch between instruments on a whim when playing a song like how you can either, but other than that, I am fine, and I am glad to be contacted by you, come pay us a visit when you have the time.
-Sincerely, Woodwind",
Pinkie Pie smiled widely and put the letter down, she worked in Sugarcube Corner for the rest of the day and then laid in her bed and slept with a smile on her face.