Part 4B: Berry Punch VS. The World
In terms of the mission, that first month before Lorraine’s birthday party passed by uneventfully. Ash spent the time familiarising Berry Punch with the town and the cultures of humanity. At the start, Berry was reluctant, not wanting distractions, but it was pointed out to her that if she wished to complete this mission of hers to the best of her abilities, it would be wise to learn how to blend in. As such, she needed to know what it was she was blending in with.
Ash wasn’t exactly the most stereotypical female of her species. She was not a shopaholic, nor was she into chatting about ‘boys’. The closest thing she had to a sense of fashion was knowing what clothes she liked, and which clothes wouldn’t get the local mall fauna pointing and laughing. Ash was a woman who preferred not to catch too much attention. This suited Berry Punch just fine.
It turns out they both had similar ideas of what counted as a good time, at least during the day. Exercise was like a hobby for the unlikely duo, as well as enjoying a good meal without the restrictions of fancy diets. In the evenings, Berry made do without the alcohol she had grown used to drinking on nights off. In its place came new fangled human activities, namely TV, gaming and the internet.
Over the course of two weeks from her arrival on Earth, Berry developed a knack for gaming, using her fake thumbs with a skill one wouldn’t expect from a species used to no digits at all. The internet mainly came into play when Ash had to leave for lectures and other activities to do with her engineering course. With her strong self control, she managed to avoid being drawn in by the many online distractions and focus on studying humanity.
Eventually, as the midway point of the wait rolled by, Ash slowly began introducing Berry to her college buddies. They were small in number, but the care the woman had taken in choosing them proved to be effective, as each and every one of them were a quirky little gem in their own right. By the time the full months wait came to an end, no one would think Berry, or ‘Rebecca Punchini’ (pronounce pooncheeny) was in fact a visitor from an alternate reality.
Winter was coming to an end, and as usual, the snow was only just deciding to arrive. Wrapped up warm under many layers, Ash and Berry pushed through snow reach just above their knees, or at least Ash’s knees. She was slightly shorter than average, at 5’5’’, while Berry was nearer to 6 foot. The party was being held in a student house belonging to a friend of both Lorraine and Ash, so getting an invite was easy.
They were soon in the warm embrace of the party, which had already been under way for a good couple of hours.
“Why is it we’ve come to this party, again?” Berry asked
She frowned slightly at a bunch of men she’d learn to identify as jocks. Two of them seemed to be re-enacting the sport of American Football by one on one scrumming, with those around cheering away. Were they fighting or just ‘being lads’?
Ash smiled, answering, “I got the impression you’re fond of a good drink. This seemed like the best thing to do, seeing as drinking in company is better than alone, right?”
“That’s very considerate of you, but are you sure? Even back home it’s a common fact that being the only sober person isn’t exactly fun.”
“Just go get yourself some punch or something, will you? Before I change my mind!”
Berry smirked and vanished into the crowd. A short while later she returned with a plastic cup of punch and a bottle of beer. Ash looked at the drinks questioningly.
“I’m no expert, but I don’t think those two mix well.”
The cup was held out to Ash.
“This one’s for you, silly.”
“I said I don’t drink.”
“You should try it some time. What happens if you try it another time when you haven’t got someone like me around, eh? It takes a lot to put me out of commission. And besides, you look a tad uncomfortable around so many ‘not-friends’.”
“...”
A voice called out over the crowd, “Hey, Piston Face!”
Ash put a hand to her face, whispering, “Oh, please, don’t be him.”
A man dressed as what Berry believed to be a ‘Hipster’ appeared through the sea of drunk students. Everything about him screamed ‘I think I’m super trendy’, especially his thatch fedora.
“How’s our little sleepy head?” he asked, reaching an invasive arm around Ash’s shoulders, shaking her in an attempt to seem chummy. “Oh, look, a new friend! They call me Thatcher.” He stuck out a hand, which Berry shook. “‘Cause of the hat.”
Berry gasped in mock surprise.
“No, really? I thought it was because you looked like Maggie Thatcher.”
“Oooooo, sharp wit you got there! Hey, want to hear a funny story?”
“Sure. Does it have to do with ‘Piston Face’?”
“That it does!”
Ash snatched the punch from Berry’s hand and gulped it down.
“See, Alexus here stayed up aaaaaaaall night to study for an exam the next morning. We had a lecture the afternoon of the same day, and she fell a sleep. Near the end of this lecture, her seat broke, startling her awake. Thing is, she’d slept on her notes, with the ink still damp, and on her cheek was a diagram of a piston engine. Thing didn’t come off until a couple days later! Funny, huh? Poor Piston Face.”
Berry saw Ash grimace at the repetition of her unfortunate nickname.
“You know, Thatcher… the hipster look really doesn’t suit you… as douchey as it looks, I think you need to go further. Maybe get one of those dunce caps with the big D on it. Tell people it stands for douche. Or dick; dick works too. Hay, maybe just go with the whole Dunce thing.”
This made Ash giggle. Thatcher look offended.
“How-”
“-dare I? Simple, really. You talk, I hear, an opinion of you is made and I express that opinion.”
With that, Thatcher stormed off.
“You know he has loads of friends here, right? He’s president of the Student Union. Others will come.”
“Good for them. More punch?”
“I dunno…”
Another male voice made itself heard over the crowd, “Oi, you! With the funny looking hair!”
“To the punch!”
The rest of the night followed like this:
Ash made a beeline for the main drinks table, leaving Berry to be confronted by two men along with Thatcher. The three men went on to explain that she had insulted the Student Body President. Berry replied with a comment on how this felt like a generic American plotline where new kid is harassed by stuck up popular person. The three men began to harass Berry, who remained unphased. Eventually, she offered they have a drinking competition. Her against all three of them. They could share the drinks amongst themselves; spread out the load. They were unaware of Berry’s legendary liver.
A couple of hours later, and the three men were put in their place. During the contest, Ash had grown bored of punch and gone around trying the other forms of booze present at the party. So, as Thatcher and company went outside to void their stomachs with camera phones recording every second, Berry escorted Ash home. Lorraine was kind enough to call them a cab. The birthday girl was quite appreciative of Thatcher’s trouncing.
Back at the apartment, Ash refused to go to bed and jumped onto the sofa. Berry, drunk but still in moderate control of herself, poured them both some water and humoured her host, switching on the PlayStation3. They then ruined their hard earned kill ratios on Call of Duty.
Between games, Ash lazily slurred, “You know, Berry… I think you’re awesome.”
“You’re not too bad yourself, Ash,” Berry complimented back.
“But you’re like… super fucking awesome…”
To exaggerate her meaning, Ash waved her arms in the air, losing her balance and sliding onto Berry. Her head rested on Berry’s lap. They stared at one another.
“... Hi,” Ash said.
“Hey…”
Ash started to lift herself back up, but snuck a hand behind Berry’s head, bringing her closer, and their lips met. Alarm bells sounded in Berry’s mind and she pulled back. A look of confusion showed on Ash’s face.
“I think it’s time we went to bed.”
Before Ash could do anything, Berry had carried her to bed and tucked her in and then returned to the couch. They fell asleep quickly, thanks to the amount of alcohol they’d both consumed. The next morning, Ash had forgotten the events that had transpired after about halfway through the drinking contest. Berry thought it best to keep it that way while she held Ash’s hair back by the toilet. Turns out mixing punch, beer and then some was indeed an unwise decision.
“Never again,” she said, over and over.
With the party come and gone, the time had come for staking out the Beer Store. Luckily, Lorraine had really meant ‘recently’ in her tale at the Library. Three days after turning twenty one, the unnatural rainbow appeared, and along came Rainbow Dash. Unluckily, the suits from before were quick to return.
At first, it seemed they were at a loss as to where the new visitor had gone. But, during Day 3, Berry learned what had them confused. The suits had gadgets that could detect whatever it was about the filly that allowed her to travel between universes. These gadgets seemed to be blocked off by something in the walls of Lorraine’s student accommodation. When Lorraine decided to take little Dashie out and about for the first time, the suits went on the move.
The first day out took place in the town park. A simple enough plan. There were enough secluded spots around for Rainbow to stretch her wings without being seen by the public. The secret government agency sent only two men, hoping to avoid a scene. That would have been fine if not for the two guardian angels.
Berry knocked one of them out from behind while he hid in a bush. What Ash did with the second target was far more ingenious. She hid behind a tree, breathing deeply, preparing herself. She wasn’t a fan of strangers, let alone shadowy, gun carrying men. In one hand she held a map of the area she’d procured from a friend. With one last intake of air, Ash walked right up to the man, putting on her best posh, British accent accent.
“Excuse me, sir, but I appear to be a little bit lost. Would you mind directing me to the museum?”
The man was surprisingly willing to help and began to direct her. She feigned confusion and misunderstanding. The man altered between using the map and trying to describe mental imagery. Ash would have none of it, playing the perfect, infuriatingly ignorant tourist. When out of the corner of her eye she saw Lorraine head out of the park, she kept the act up for another minute or so before suddenly understanding the directions and wandering off. The man audibly sighed with relief.
She met back up with Berry outside her apartment block.
“What was all that about with the suit?”
The two women entered the building, climbing the stairs.
“I pretended to be a stereotypical tourist.”
“Strange tactics.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“I just knocked mine out.”
“You what!? Now they’ll know someone’s onto them! They’ll probably figure out what I did! He saw my face!”
“Nothing else came to mind, I’m sorry!”
The apartment door was opened rather aggressively.
“You seemed to be fine without violence back at the party!”
“People would have seen me! He kinda pissed me off and that usually helps with ad libbing!”
Ash paused at her bedroom door, about to slam it shut behind her. She let out a slow breath and turned around calmly.
“I'm sorry. It... I'm... I just broke the fucking law for some creatures from a different Universe or whatever, and I don't know how bad punishments are where you come from, but here… It-it's basically a chance of ending my life before it actually started for me.”
“... You’ve got college stuff tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, but-”
“I’ll be fine on my own. It’s like you said, he saw your face. Wouldn’t want to confirm any suspicions they have, would you?”
“... Thanks.”
They went to bed early.
Day 4 passed by without a hitch. Lorraine did go outside, but only to fetch some things for home based activities. Day 5, Lorraine went to lectures, and judging by the entourage of badly disguised stalkers, she took her furry friend with her. Being in big, public places, it was too risky to approach her. There was a lavatory visit, but Berry took a leaf out of Ash’s book and used more subtle, inconspicuous methods of obstruction.
With a little cash, a cleaner was paid off to clean outside the specific toilets Lorraine went into. Then, on the woman’s return to the lecture hall, Berry pretended to be a hurried student and rammed into a couple of men about to pounce. She strongly hoped they wouldn’t see the lack of bag or papers as suspicious.
Now, Day 6 was the day everything almost went to hell in a handbasket. Berry followed Lorraine to the college’s indoor track, where many college athletes were practising. Ash was there too. She didn’t normally get so involved in sports, but it seemed like a good way to help. It was apparently customary for people to just come and watch as they pleased, so the government agents annoyingly blended in with the crowds. The crowds made Ash a little more uncomfortable than she already was with the other practising students.
Seeing no better option, Berry joined the rest of the audience. This ended up being a bad idea, as she soon got engrossed in the athletes, especially Ash. Being around humans so much, acting as one of them, it had altered her perception of them. There was definitely a physical attraction.
Thankfully, Ash had been paying more attention, and saw when someone took Lorraine’s bag. Nobody seemed to be bothered when she left the track. Berry obviously noticed her leave and followed suit. Ash easily caught up with the thief, as the bag’s contents had made it harder to carry, trying to escape.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Ash asked.
Before the man could respond, Ash had kicked him in the face. It was helpful he’d been bent over the bag. Having made contact with the chin, the result was a one hit knock out. With no one holding the bag shut anymore, Rainbow Dash jumped out and flew away.
“Bugger!”
Berry appeared around the corner, having to duck as the filly zoomed past. Ash made to chase after her, but Berry held up a hand.
“I’ve got this. You take the bag back and don’t let Lorraine realise she’s gone.”
Doing as told, Ash grabbed the bag and jogged back to the track. Thinking to search the unconscious agent before pursuing Dash, Berry found a radio.
A whispering voice spoke from it, “The alien is airborne inside the building. I repeat, the alien is airborne. There’s also two new female suspects. One is examining agen- wait… she’s gone. I don’t think she saw m-”
Berry swung open the janitor’s closet, revealing the spy.
“She’s found me! Need bac-”
A swift punch silenced the man, his body slumping backwards over the cleaning trolley behind him. Berry was tempted to say something witty over the radio, but then they’d know she had one, if they didn’t suspect it already. Finally, Berry joined the search for Rainbow Dash. Since arrival, she’d used her Cloakling Device to speak the local language. Now, to lure out her fellow pony, she took on her original form and spoke Equestrian.
“Dashie? Where are you, honey? If you can hear me, you know that there’s only one human who can speak like you, and I’m not her.”
She kept saying the same or similar things over and over as she roamed the maze-like college. Her voice was soft and soothing. Once or twice she almost bumped into an agent, and they heard her speaking but she never let them see her. After some time, it occurred to Berry that a Pegasus would likely seek a high up place. When she found one, the mare checked a map for any places with possibly higher points. Other than the track, the only other possibly high place seemed to be in the theatre, to which Berry headed immediately.
Finding her way in via the main stage, Berry examined the surroundings. Spotting a hint of rainbow coloured hair, Berry sighed with relief.
“Rainbow Dash, can you hear me?”
Indeed hearing her, the filly poked her head from the rafter she was curled up on.
“Another pony? Have you come to rescue me?” she asked as she eagerly glided down to Berry.
Berry hugged the Pegasus foal.
“Not exactly, little one. I am hear to keep you safe before Lorraine gets you home.”
“You know Lorraine?”
“Of course I do. She’s your little human, after all. I have one myself. Her name is Ash. I’d let you meet her, but we need to get you back into Lorraine’s bag before she notices you’re gone.”
“Oh… ok… Erm… Do you have any Ponyville apples? I haven’t had one since the day I got here.”
“I’m sorry, Dash, but I’m all out. Now, I’m going to use a little Earth Pony magic, ok? It’ll make me seem human so that I can sneak you back.”
Rainbow nodded her understanding. Once human again, Berry picked up the filly and hurried out of the theatre, checking every turning before moving forward. It appeared the agents weren’t as intuitive as Berry, and were doing a thorough sweep of every room. Mare and filly reached the track, undetected, and RD was safely returned to the confines of Lorraine’s bag.
Later, when practise finished, Berry escorted an exhausted Ash to her car, with which the human drove them home.
“You know, I thought you were against violence. That kick looked awful violent to me.”
“Pointless violence. I couldn’t risk being seen again. Sometimes, your way is the best way.” There was a pause, and then, more quietly, “And damn did it feel really fucking good.”
Berry nodded knowingly. Minutes later the two were relaxing on the couch. Ash was just finishing up explaining her avoidance of sport.
“And that’s why I don’t do more than just casual exercise. I’m not up for the competitive side of things.”
“I thought you were good. Well, you were good whenever I got a chance to watch.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
Berry’s thoughts wandered back to those moments she did get to see Ash. With the imagery came the feelings. So small, but most certainly present. Which then reminded her of that incident after the party. It didn’t feel right letting Ash go without knowing what happened.
“Ash, about the party…”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“When… When we got back, you tried to kiss me.”
This earned an awkward silence. It could be seen in Ash’s eyes that she was suddenly remembering everything that happened that night, the fog having dissipated.
“Oh. Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s been over a month since… since I lost her… And it’s not unheard of for people or ponies to move on quickly enough to find love so soon after. It probably helps that my urge for revenge has been redirected.”
“Redirected?”
“Yes. The fault for everything falls on whoever has been getting these poor fillies killed. I can’t believe it took me this long to realise this. It happened while carrying Rainbow Dash. I had to lie to her. I know she’s going to die.” Tears began to form in Berry’s eyes. “It was hard, acting like everything was going to be fine. I may have already done something that started a chain of events leading to her death. Tomorrow… for all I know, I may have changed things so that she won’t get shot… and have to be the one to hit her.”
Ash moved closer to Berry on the sofa and side hugged her.
Now openly crying, Berry continued, “I thought I could handle myself. I had to pretend to try and save Pinkie Pie… It hurt… and so I decided to completely ignore her, making me look heartless in front of Cliff. Now this predicament! Luna knows my heart’ll just stop if I have to watch Rarity die!”
At this point, Berry just dug her face into Ash’s shoulder. The recipient patted Berry’s back assuredly.
“It’s okay, Berry. I’ll be there to help you through it.”
“And there’s another thing! Tomorrow is my last chance back to Equestria, and I have to get back. We won’t see each other again and… I really do like you.”
An idea struck Ash hard. At first she thought it was ridiculous, but something inside her told her it was worth a try.
“... what if… what if I came with you?”
“You can’t. I show up at the Library alone.”
“Maybe I’m just waiting round the corner? You do your thing, then you run, find me and we go to another time. Maybe even see if we can’t find a way back here?”
“... You’re right, but… We may never find a way back to the human world. You said before how you had things going for you here. Why the change of mind?”
“I still want to do that. But… I don’t know. The possibility of travelling to another reality, where everything is bright, colourful and happy. Living with nary a care in the world. And that time machine of yours! Time travel! It sounds too good to pass up!”
Berry had stopped crying, beaming at the woman’s excitement. Ash stared into Berry’s eyes, who stared back, and they leant in to one another. In the last millisecond before lips made contact, the sound of several cars skidding to a halt was heard from outside.
“What on Ea-”
Ash was cut short by a gas canister smashing a hole in her apartment window. It immediately began to eject its contents.
Instantly alert, Berry grabbed Ash’s hand and pulled her out of the apartment. Footsteps could be heard rushing up the stairs, so the soldier instinctively took her human up to the roof. Once outside, she found there was nowhere to go except down off the edge.
Suited men and women surrounded the building on the road and car park sides. The third side was blocked off by a much higher building with no way of climbing up it. The final side had an alleyway, unguarded, containing an open dumpster. Berry made to jump for it, but Ash held her back.
“Berry, they’re just going to keep chasing until we tire ourselves out. We’ll have no way of getting to the Beer Store with them on our tail!”
“Then what do we do?! Let them take us in? That’s even worse!”
“No! Just me!”
“I’m the one they want, though!”
“I know.”
The next few seconds went so slowly for Berry. Having revealed the Cloakling Device to her before, Ash could see and interact with it. She yanked it from Berry’s neck and pushed the suddenly apparent pony off the edge of the building, sending her down towards the dumpster. Descending through the air, Berry watched as the human donned the Device, taking on Berry’s human form.
The dumpster, as expected, being filled to the brim with rubbish, cushioned the Earth Pony’s fall. Berry didn’t feel the horrible touch of grimy refuse, nor did she smell its horrendous odour. The only sense she paid any attention to was her hearing.
She heard Ash’s capture. She heard her escorted to a car. She heard the fleet of human transports drive away. Then she heard nothing. Berry did not cry; she had cried enough. Accepting this latest loss as a sign that fate wanted her to remain alone, Berry Punch crawled out of the dumpster and its grungy contents.
She checked her weapons. Rifle ammunition was low. Revolvers were fine; she’d barely used them. That was that. Brushing herself off, Berry noticed a tiny piece of metal with a flashing light in it fall off of her sleeve. It was too late to wonder how that had found its way onto her sweater. A simple stomp crushed it to nothingness.
Night had fallen before the suits had come. This was a mild convenience. With no attempt to hide her presence to any passers by, Berry Punch walked emotionlessly through the town. That evening was bitter cold, but Berry didn’t notice. She was already cold inside.