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// Ch. 4: "You didn't kidnap her, right?" 
// Story: The Wonderful Life of Berry Punch 
// by Dusk-Spark 
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It was a couple of months ago; Berry, Cheerilee Colgate, her brother Noteworthy (otherwise known as Blues), and Twilight Sparkle were sitting around a table in the Thunderbutt bar. It was an hour past closing, but they were all having fun, got a few drinks in (just a few drinks, mind). She was only tipsy, not full blown get-into-a-fight-with-a-tree-and-vomiting-what-has-my-life-become drunk.

“Okay, okay. So tell us what happened next Twilight!” Berry said as she took another chug of the delicious nectar filling the mug.

Twilight’s cheeks were rose colored as she struggled to maintain her balance, “And then at the last moment, *Hic* Rarity’s flank came into my mind saying; Twilight, it’s like I’m wearing nothing at all! Nothing at all! Nothing at all!” She mimicked Rarity’s accent and mannerisms perfectly, despite being just a wee bit drunk.

“Stupid sexy Rarity.” Ever pony burst out laughing at Berry‘s sudden comment. Berry pointed a hoof at Twilight, “Alright then, Ms. Librarian super pony and the rest of you, how‘re the love lives? Ever have a burning desire deep inside your heart that couldn‘t be filled by all the books in the world?!” Berry leaned in close, expecting a very saucy, interesting story from Twilight. She was from Canterlot after all; she must have had plenty of interesting romance stories?

“…?” Twilight just stared at her with a half-tired expression. “ *Hic* What?” She said through her giggles. “Oh, ohhhh, you mean like a coltfriend or a marefriend?” She laughed nervously and took another drink, “Well, I…may have had some passing interests in some ponies. But you know...studies *hic.* ” She points to Cheerilee with her hoof, “What about you Cheerilee? You and Big Mac have been spending a *hic* lot of time together lately.”

Cheerilee stopped mid-sip, she eyed the ponies around the table quizzically, then slowly put the mug down on the table, looked around once more and with a straight face she said in a flat tone; “…No comment.”

“Oh come on!” Colgate threw her hooves in the air, the mug flying out of her hoof and hitting the wall, “Alright, Berry!” And no one seemed to care that Colgate had just destroyed the mug.

“Hm?” Berry said while downing her third mug, “What’re we talking about?”

“Love lives! I know you must have some interesting stories! Whatever happened to that one mare from a few weeks back?”

“We met, had dinner, and then she tried to sell me a toaster.” Berry was lying through her teeth, “She had a very lovely tail.”

“Oh, you’re single? *Hic.* ” Twilight spoke up, “I always thought that you were…”

“That I was…?”

“Well, with Pinchy and all, I *Hic* thought you were with a stallion or-”

“Nope.” Berry cut her off, taking another chug.

“Hey, I’ve always wondered about that.” Colgate followed up, “Who is Pinchy’s father? I’m your best friend and you’ve never mentioned him once.”

“I’m her sister and you know what she told me?” Cheerilee stood up and mimicked Berry’s drunken sway, “Hey, sis! What has four legs and a foal to take care of. This gal! Here's your adorable niece by the way!” She holds up an invisible foal to absolutely no one, “Please don’t kick us out on the street. Ha! I still remember the day you showed up on my doorstep. I don‘t hear from you in years, and then you show up with a newborn foal without any explanation.”

“I always thought you kidnapped her from somewhere.” Colgate joked, and then everyone laughed. Then their laughs died down when they realized Berry wasn’t laughing. “…You didn’t kidnap her, right?”

“Huh? Of course not! Ruby Berry Pinch is definitely my fruit, take one look at her and that’s obvious.” Berry finished another drink; she stole Blue’s half-finished drink and took a hearty chug.

“So…where is her father then?” Blues spoke up suddenly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

For a while, the table was silent. Then Berry's somber tone broke the silence with: “It’s a long story, and I‘m way too wasted to go into detail. So here‘s the short version: I met a unicorn during my travels to find myself, we had some drinks, spent some time together it was...fun. But, circumstances had our paths go in different directions. I wanted to go to the Zebra lands, he wanted to go wrestle minotaurs. We parted ways and then a few months later I found out that I was pregnant. That was pretty much the end of my adventuring so I hoofed it back to Ponyville after Pinchy was born and used my charm to find a place to stay.”

“…You didn’t drink while you were-”

“NO!” She protested immediately. The entire table looked at her with a disbelieving stare. “…Okay fine, I had some drinks while she was still baking but COME ON, if I knew I was pregnant I probably wouldn’t have done a lot of things. I can't take back what's already done...” She then quickly added, “And the moment I found out that I WAS pregnant, I immediately stopped drinking!” The ponies still held the same disbelieving stares as if frozen in time, “I swear! Pinkie Pie promise!” She said while putting a hoof to her eye. "OW!" Motor skills were not tipsy Berry's strong points.

“Uh-huh.” It looked like they decided not to press the issue, deciding to take Berry’s word for it…despite her having a checkered history with the truth. “So…did you ever wonder what happened to him?” Colgate asked.

“Nope. I don‘t know where he is now, don‘t even know if he‘s still alive. All I know is, I have Pinchy and when she was born, I decided that I was going to be the best, most loving mother in the world. I think I‘ve done a pretty good job at raising her…right Cheerilee?”

“…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…of all the things in your life, you do make a decent parent. A lot of parents are way too strict and other parents try too hard to be the foal‘s friend rather than a parent. You…you seem to have a pretty good balance going on. The only thing I worry about is if you‘re setting a good example for her.”

“Well that’s why you’re there, to set a much better ideal for her to live up to.” The conversation was suddenly interrupted when Twilight Sparkle fell over, laughing to herself and hiccuping. “I think she’s had enough, may as well get her home.” Berry and the others crowded around her, “Alright, come on.” 
They helped her onto her hooves and tried to keep her stable, “Come on: one two, three four. Closing time, you don‘t have to go home but you can‘t stay here.”

Such an odd memory to recall from just a picture…