Star Shine is a 27 year old beautiful white unicorn mare that used to have many good things in her life. She had a great husband, a good office job in financing, and a nice home. She and her husband, Iron Sabre, who was also a white unicorn, used to be members of the Royal Guard, which is where they met. After fighting in a few battles against changelings, they retired and then got married after a few months of dating. Nine months after they got married, they had a baby colt named Sabre Jr. He was everything to Star Shine, as she wouldn't leave the baby's sight, no matter what. They all then moved to Las Pegasus for a new life after their little colt started growing up. Iron Sabre became a police officer for the Las Pegasus Police Department (LPPD) and Star Shine became a finance executive at one of the Casinos in the city. They lived in a nice suburban home, surrounded by lovely neighbors. Star Shine thought life couldn't get any better. Unfortunately, life started getting bad.
A few months after Sabre Jr. turned nine, Iron Sabre was killed in a car crash after his cruiser was T-boned by a drunk driver. The driver was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. Although, that wasn't enough to relieve the devastation that Iron Sabre's family had faced after Iron Sabre was killed. To make matters worse, he didn't have any life insurance. They were able to get 20,000 bits as a form of relief by the LPPD, but that wasn't enough. A month after Iron Sabre was killed, an economic crisis swept throughout Equestria. Many businesses closed down, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Ponies losing their jobs, including Star Shine's. It was another devastation to lose her good paying job, especially at a time like this. She tried finding similar jobs that she was qualified in, but no other place was hiring.
The economic crisis even affected the prices of houses. Because of this, Star Shine had no choice but to sell the house for a lousy 5,000 bits. She and Sabre Jr. ended up moving into a crappy apartment with only one bedroom, which means they had to share a bed. Although the rent was cheap, it felt very cramped.
The new job Star Shine got was not very good. She ended up being a waitress at a fast food restaurant called AppleHoots. It was one those restaurants where the waitresses had to wear short dolphin shorts and tank tops. It was embarrassing for her to wear such "revealing" clothes, but she didn't have a choice. She had a little colt to raise and support, and this job was the only way for her to pay the bills and put food on the table. The shorts were not long enough to fully cover her butt, which always revealed a bit of her cutie mark and the tank top revealed the top part of her breasts. This was something that she preferred wearing in private instead of at work. The pay was barely at the minimum requirements: Only 4 bits an hour. The reason she was receiving low pay was because the restaurant was struggling to get by as well. With so many ponies out of work, not many of them was willing to spend much at the small businesses like stores or restaurants. Star Shine did hope her new job would last long enough until she finds a better one.
After the last customer in the restaurant leaves, Star Shine walks over to that customer's table and starts cleaning it. She picks up the dishes and cider mug and hands them over to the dish washer. She then goes back to the table with a bottle of cleaning spray and a rag in her hands and sprays and wipes the table clean. A beeping is going off in her smartphone. She pulls it out of the pocket of her short-shorts to check what message was on the screen.
It was a time reminder saying that Star Shine had to go pick up Sabre Jr. from school at 3:00 PM, which is now. Her break starts at that time, and she makes a huge sigh in relief. She grabs her purse, goes to her car and starts driving to her son's school. Her car is a 2-door mini. She used to have a fancier 4-door sedan, but had to sell that as well to gain extra money. Unfortunately, selling the car didn't earn much money as well.
Star Shine stops in front of the schools entrance yard and looks around for Sabre. She spots him sitting alone on a bench, with no other fillies in sight. He was normal looking unicorn filly. Just like his mom and dad, he also had white fur. He wore a dark blue hoodie and dark green pants. A bit of his brown hair covered his right eye. He was playing on his joy boy, without paying much attention to his mothers car.
HONK* HONK*
Star Shine honks her horn to alert him. Sabre looks up and sees his moms car. He grabs his backpack and heads for the car. He sits in the passenger seat next to his mom.
"Hey sweetie. How was school today?" Star Shine kisses Sabre on the cheek.
"It was fine..." He said in a depressed tone. He turns his head and faces the window. Star Shine seemed a bit worried. The sound of Sabre's voice worried his mom, making her think something was wrong. Star Shine then starts driving.
"Are you sure? By the sound of your tone, you don't seem fine. If anything is troubling you, you can talk to me about it." Star Shine said with a caring voice.
"Well...I just don't like it when you wear those kinds of clothes..." Said Sabre, still having a depressed tone. Star Shine rolled her eyes from that comment. It was an argument they had dealt with before. Sabre never liked seeing her mom in a type of uniform where a bit of her butt and breasts were showing. It just makes him feel very uncomfortable.
"Sweetie, I told you so many times. I have to wear this for my job. It is a requirement, not a choice." Said Star Shine.
"But still, it looks so...so...pervy." Said Sabre. His mom had to agree with him. It did look pervy, but she still didn't have a choice. She had to wear it in order to keep the job.
"I know it looks pervy, sweetie. But like I said, I don't have a choice. Do you think I like wearing this? Do you think I enjoy doing this job?" She said.
"No..." Said Sabre.
"Of course I don't. But I have to do this job in order for us to live, to make money, to put food on the table." Said Star Shine.
"But mom, if you don't like your new job, then why not find another one?" Asked Sabre.
"Mommy is trying her best, sweetie. Unfortunately, this economic crisis is making things difficult. I was lucky enough just to get the job I have now. But I promise, I will try and find a better job, just for you." Said Star Shine. She didn't want to admit it, but she has been trying to find another job for the past couple of months now. Unfortunately, this economic crisis continues to make things more difficult for her. Everywhere she looks, the businesses are either full, or shutting down due to the crisis. She even looks on the internet for another job, but with no luck.
Star Shine and Sabre Jr. arrive at their apartment complex. It was a 3 story building with 30 rooms. Many of the rooms were small and only had one bedroom. Star Shine and Sabre Jr.'s apartment was like that. It was the cheapest place that Star Shine could afford. The conditions inside their apartment were okay, but a little cramped. It contained: one bedroom, one bathroom, a small living room that fits only one couch and TV, and a very small kitchen.
Once they enter their apartment room, Sabre turns on the TV and sits on the couch to watch, but Star Shine then turns it off after a few seconds.
"But mom-" Sabre whined, but was interrupted before he could finish.
"No buts! You know the rules! First you do your homework, then you can watch TV." Star Shine said with a strict tone. She sits on the couch next to Sabre and hands him his backpack, "Bring out your homework. I only have an hour until I go back to work, so I can help you for right now." She said. Sabre brings out a paper with math problems relating to subtractions.
"This is all I have for today." Sabre said. Star Shine watches him do his homework. Throughout the entire session, Sabre did all of the math problems by himself without asking his mom for any help or instruction. Once he finishes half an hour later, she checks his homework to make sure everything is correct, some were right but most of them were wrong. She then goes over these problems with Sabre again and then they finally finish. Sabre may be a slow learner, but at least he has a smart mother to help him.
"Good job, sweetie! I think you're getting better at this!" Said Star Shine, and then kisses Sabre Jr. on the forehead. Star Shine then checks the time on her smartphone: 3:45 PM. It was almost time to get back to work. She goes to the bathroom to wash up, she ties her long brown hair into a ponytail, and leaves.
"Alright, sweetie! Mommy has to go back to work. I will be back home with dinner at eight. Raindrop will be here in half an hour to watch you while I am gone. Please behave, alright?" Said Star Shine.
"Yes mom!" said Sabre Jr. as he nodded his head.
"Good colt!" she said, then kisses Sabre's forehead again. She opens the apartment door with the magic coming from her horn. "I Love you sweetie!" She waves goodbye and leaves. Sabre then turns on the TV and starts watching some Power Ponies and My Little Deer.
Star Shine arrives at AppleHoots. A few customers were sitting at the bar area drinking mugs of apple cider. One of Star Shine's Co-workers, Coco Melody, was waiting at the hostess desk, chewing pink bubble gum. Coco Melody was a pretty looking yellow Pegasus with blue hair and tail. She was wearing the same uniform as Star Shine's: Short dolphin shorts and tank top, with a little bit of breasts and butt exposed. She was leaning on the hostess desk, resting her head on on her hand as if she was bored. She starts blowing a bubble and it then pops after a few seconds.
"Hey Coco! How are you?" said Star Shine. All Coco Melody did was just shrug her shoulders. "Okay then..." Star Shine says awkwardly. A few customers entered the restaurant. Coco Melody and Star Shine seated them to their tables and started taking their orders. Star Shines group of customers ordered some Hay burgers, hay fries, and some mugs of cider. Coco Melody's group of customers ordered deep fried carrots and broccoli and also some mugs of cider. They gave their lists to the kitchen staff and both sit at a table until the customers foods were ready.
"I can't believe this stupid economic crisis got me stuck with a lousy job like this." Star Shine said with disappointment.
"What is so lousy about it?" said Coco Melody.
"Hmmm...lets see...I have to wear erotic clothing, work 12 hours or longer each day with only 4 bits an hour, the customers always try to cop a feel on my ass, and not only that, they sometimes put bits in between my breasts as a perverted 'tip'. It is so humiliating." Star Shine complained. She bowed her head down and covered her face with her hands
"If this job is so humiliating for you, then why don't you quit and find another one?" said Coco Melody.
"I keep trying to find another job for the past couple of months. But like I said before, the crisis is making it more difficult. If I quit now I won't be able to support my baby." said Star Shine.
"I didn't know you had a kid." said Coco Melody.
"Of course I do. Here is his picture." Star Shine opens her smartphone and goes to the photo section. She chooses the best photo of Sabre Jr. and shows it to Coco. In the picture was Star Shine and Sabre Jr. sitting at the beach with smiles on their faces.
"Awwww! What a cute little colt." Coco said happily.
"Thanks Coco. He means everything to me!" Said Star Shine.
"No prob! Anyway, about the whole situation with the perverts, there is a policy here that you may like." Coco said with a grin.
"What kind of policy?" Star Shine asks with interest.
"When a customer harasses a waitress here, just grab a mug of cider, and spill it on em! I do it all the time when I get touched." Said Coco. Star Shine thought about it for a moment, and realizes that Idea is genius.
DING*DING* "Order up!" said one of the chefs.
Star Shine and Coco Melody got up from their table and picked up the customers meals and drinks. They then bring orders to the customers. "Alright, here you go gentle colts! Is there anything else you need?" She asked.
"Oh, no thank you! Here's a tip on me." said one of the customers, who was a blue earth pony. He pulls a bit out of his pocket and places it in between her breasts. The others, who were pegasi, smirked. Star Shine crosses her arms and gives them a look of disapproval. She lifts the earth pony's cider mug with her magic, fills her mouth with the cider, and spits it out on his face and then pours the rest on his head.
"Pig!!!" Star Shine said, and walked away. The earth pony's friends and the other customers who saw everything pointed and laughed at the earth pony.
"Woo! That's my girl!" said a proud Coco Melody. She and Star Shine high fived.
7:45 PM.
It was almost time for Star Shine and Coco Melody to leave. After many hours of serving tables and dealing with perverts, it was a huge relief for them to go home. Star Shine ordered a hay burger with deep fried carrot sticks and apple pie for Sabre Jr.'s dinner. She always got dinner for Sabre from AppleHoots. Cooking at home used to be a common way to feed Sabre, but now it was too expensive to cook at home. He has been eating food from AppleHoots ever since his mom started working there. Surprisingly, he hasn't gained any weight from the unhealthy food.
Star Shine and Coco Melody were having hay burgers and mugs of cider of their own while they waited. There was no other customer to serve except for the ones at the bar, but that was the bartender's responsibility.
"Coco, this was an amazing day at work. It felt so good to humiliate those pigs. I have to thank you for this. I wish I knew about that policy ever since the day I started working at this dump. I just hope that policy doesn't give negative effects on this restaurant." said Star Shine.
"Don't worry Star! Besides, once they get cider spilled on them they keep coming, but they learn their lessons. Cheers to us being awesome waitresses!" said Coco. They both picked up their cider mugs and started chugging them down with pride. Star Shine ordered the non-alcoholic cider for both herself and Coco. The last thing she wants is to get arrested for drunk driving.
"Hey Star! How was life like when you and your husband were together?" Coco asked.
"My life was better than this. We lived in a nice home, and I had a great job. But after he died in a car accident, life has been complete hell for us. The economy crashed, I lost my job, and worst of all, my husband didn't have life insurance. I was hoping that selling our house would help, but unfortunately the economy crashing affected housing prices as well. I could only get 5,000 bits for our house. It wasn't enough. I sold it anyway because I was desperate to earn money. Now, I am stuck working in this shit hole and living in a cramped apartment for Celestia knows how long!" said Star Shine. She tilted her head down in guilt.
"Awww don't worry Star! Look on the bright side! At least you and Sabre Jr. are still together!" Coco said. Star Shine tilted her head back up and smiled warmly at Coco Melody.
"You're right Coco! That is a bright side!" said Star Shine.
"I think your husband was a lucky stallion actually. Judging by how you look, I think you are the prettiest mare that has ever worked here." said Coco.
"You really think so?" Star Shine asked.
"Oh for sure, Star! You got quite the ass and rack on you! I can see why our customers were acting like pigs towards you! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Coco said with amusement.
Star Shine blushed with embarrassment and covered her breasts with her hands. "Coco!" She said with an annoyed look.
"HAHAHAHAHA! I am just kidding!" Coco Melody said as she continued to laugh. Then all of a sudden, Star Shine started laughing as well. She had to admit, this was the best workday of her life at this restaurant.
DING* "Order up!" Said one of the chefs. The food Star Shine ordered were put in to-go boxes.
"Well, that's my sons dinner, which means I better get going! Do you need a ride, Coco?" Star Shine asked.
"No thanks! I'm a Pegasus, we don't need cars to get around. Hell, we don't even need planes for vacation!"
"Alright then!" Star Shine grabs the the food and leaves the restaurant to head for her car. Once she gets in the car, she drives off back home.
Star Shine arrives at her apartment. Once she opens the door she sees Sabre's babysitter laying on the couch reading a book, while Sabre was watching My Little Deers. "I'm home!" said Star Shine. Sabre turns his head towards her and smiles. He runs to her and hugs her, happy to see her back. Star Shine hugged him back, also happy to see the most important pony in her life.
"Hello Mrs. Shine. How was work today?" said Raindrop.
"It was actually a little fun for once. Thanks for asking! How was your day with Sabre?" said Star Shine.
"Great, just as always! He is my favorite little filly after all!" Raindrop said as she patted Sabre's head.
"How sweet! Here, let me give you your pay!" said Star Shine. She grabbed a handful of bits out of her purse and gave it to Raindrop.
"Thanks Mrs. Shine! See you tomorrow Atlas!" said Raindrop. She then leaves the apartment.
"So, how is my little angel doing?" Star Shine said happily.
"Good, and a little hungry. Did you bring food?" said Sabre.
"Of course I did, sweetie! Go sit at the table in the kitchen and wait there for a couple of minutes. Mommy has to change." said Star Shine
"Okay mom!" Sabre walked to the kitchen and sat at the table.
Star Shine went to the bedroom to change into her pajamas. Her pajamas consisted of a tight, but comfortable white t-shirt, a pair of soft, gray yoga shorts and a pair of white socks. She liked her pajama shorts because they were long enough to almost reach her knees, unlike the pervy red short-shorts she had to wear for work. It always felt so good to get out of that uniform. The back of her pajama shorts had a hole in it so her long brown tail can fit through. She then grabbed her laptop that she keeps under the bed and walks to the kitchen. She places her laptop on the table and then gets a couple of plates for the food. The food she brought for her and Sabre were a couple hay burgers with sweet potato fries. She opens the to-go boxes and slides the food on the plates.
"Bon appetit, my little angel!" said Star Shine as she places the food on the small table. She then gives Sabre a kiss on the cheek.
They both start eating. While Star Shine ate her food, she opened her laptop and started to continue her search for jobs online, with no luck yet again. She searched every job ad she could find, but once she clicks on the job ad, a notification pops up saying that the job is no longer available. She hated that notification so much she wanted to punch the laptop screen, but that would mean losing a precious laptop. All she could do is just growl in frustration.
After awhile, Star Shine gives up her search and closes the laptop. She puts in under the table and starts eating her hayburger. The food didn't make anything feel better. It tasted like a horse's ass. It was no wonder the restaurant was struggling to stay open. She still continues to eat the burger because she was not a type of pony to waste food. Another problem with this food was that every once in awhile, it gave Star Shine a bad case of the shits. Some mornings she would wake up with a stomach rumbling like crazy. She would run to the toilet and start causing a huge shit storm in it. It happened 3 times this month and it definitely won't stop there.
"Mom, I'm finished eating." said Sabre.
"Alright, go to the bathroom and take your shower sweetie." said Star Shine.
"Alright mom!" Sabre kisses Star Shine on the cheeks and goes to the shower.
Star Shine goes downstairs to the mailbox, grabs the mail, and comes back to the apartment room. She opens the Envelopes to see what bills she has to pay this month. The bills were the worst part of her day. If there was one thing that Star Shine hated more than anything else, were bills and taxes. All of her hard earned bits disappearing because of these bills, and if she doesn't pay, she goes to jail for tax evasion. At least the bills got lower for right now during the crisis.
When Star Shine finished paying the last bill on her computer, Sabre Jr. walks out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. His walked to the bedroom to change into his pajamas, He then went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he finished, he then walked to his mom.
"Hey mom, since it's Friday, can we stay up and watch Power Ponies on ColtFlix?" Sabre asked.
"Of course sweetie! But first, I need to use the shower as well." said Star Shine. Star Shine went into the bathroom to take her shower. Being under all that running water felt so refreshing after a long days work. Once she finished, she wrapped a towel rope around her and started brushing her teeth. After that she put her pajamas back on for the night.
She grabbed her laptop and both her and Saber got to the bedroom. They lay on the bed, opened the Laptop and started watching Power Ponies. Sabre Jr. rested his head on his moms shoulder. He grabbed his mom's tail and started brushing it with his hand. It was a habit that Star Shine found very cute.
After a couple hours of watching Power Ponies, Star Shine started to notice Sabre getting sleepy.
"I think we should stop watching and call it a night." Star Shine suggested.
Sabre yawned. "Alright." he said.
Star Shine closed the laptop and put it under her bed.
"Hey mom, can I ask you a question about your cutie mark?" said Sabre.
"Of course, what is it?" Asked Star Shine.
"What is your special talent? I know your cutie mark is 3 gold stars, but what do you do?" said Sabre.
"I can create Stars, but they only appear for a short amount of time! Here, let me show you!" Star Shine's horn started to glow. Soon, the entire bedroom ceiling had tiny glowing stars shining all over it. Sabre's eyes had widened. It was the most coolest thing he has ever seen. The stars disappeared after a few seconds.
"Wooooaaah! That is sooo awesome, mom! What else can you do with stars?" Sabre asked.
"Hmmmm....Oh! When I was in the Royal Guard, I was trained to destroy enemies with my star magic. I was shooting stars at Changelings during those days." said Star Shine.
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Can you teach me to shoot stars at changelings too?" Sabre asked.
"When you get older, I will! I promise!" Said Star Shine.
"What is your most favorite star, mom?" Sabre asked.
"You're my most favorite star, Sabre. You will always be my favorite little star!" Star Shine said happily. Sabre blushed.
"Thanks mom, You're the best!" said Sabre. He rested his head on her chest and wraps his arms around. He then closed his eyes. "Good night mom. I love you." said Sabre.
Star Shine smiled warmly and kisses Sabre on the forehead. "Good night, sweetie. I love you too." They then drifted off to sleep.