Daughter(s)

by Zeck

Heeelloooo Nurse

To say that Berry looked sultry in her nurse outfit would be an understatement. Minuette had simply grabbed two available garments from the locker room and tossed one to her wife without checking its size. As a result, the white button-up shirt with red crosses on the short sleeves was stretched to its breaking point on the Earth pony. Berry’s curvy body looked as though it was about to bust out of it at any moment, the juicy hips squishing seductively around the edges of the outfit. She had been forced to leave the top three buttons undone because the shirt simply wouldn’t close.

Even other ponies in the hospital were taking notice of her. Some just stopped and stared, mouths hanging open, while others did double takes and risked crashing into the nearest wall or cart.

In short, Minuette’s wife looked more like she should be popping out of a birthday cake instead of walking down hospital hallways. And Berry should have been grinning ear to ear about the whole thing while she deliberately tried to embarrass Minuette, and Minuette should have been bright red but secretly loving the whole display.

But right now, Minuette wasn’t noticing the same things about Berry that all the other ponies were. She wasn’t staring at the tight outfit or luscious curves. She was noticing that Berry’s steps were quicker by over a second per step. She turned her head every four seconds on the dot, looking up and down the walls and hallways, but never really seeing anything. The dip and sway in her hips was cut down from three seconds to less than half a second, and her ears twitched every other moment as if a small bug was flying near them.

Something was seriously stressing Minuette’s wife out. Everything about the Earth pony was off, every movement faster than normal. Minuette had seen her like this only a few times, and most of them involved Pinchy to some degree.

But Pinchy’s not here, Minuette thought with a frown. It wasn’t possible. They had gone back, past the point of Pinchy’s birth. So whatever was eating at Berry couldn’t be her daughter. So what was it? As far as Minuette knew, no other pony besides herself and their daughter drove Berry to this state.

Asking the mare was out of the question. Minuette had tried five times while the two of them had gotten dressed—Berry in her nurse’s outfit and Minuette in her doctor’s outfit—but Berry had refused to say anything. She had just asked Minuette to follow her, tears swelling in her eyes, and so the Unicorn had done what was asked of her.

Minuette was still chewing over possibilities in her head when Berry suddenly stopped as if she had walked into a wall. Minuette’s face slammed into the Earth pony’s wavy tail. The hair filled her mouth for a moment and she instantly pulled her face out of it, trying to clear her tongue with her mouth.

“Berry?” she asked, but her wife didn’t turn around. She was frozen in place, her gaze locked on something further down the hall. Curious, Minuette slowly edge up next to her, keeping her blue eyes on Berry’s face. When she stood shoulder to shoulder with her, she followed her gaze down the hall.

Two ponies were walking toward them. One of them was a stallion, and he looked as though he was barely holding himself together. His wavy brown mane was a mess, and the beard on his face was clearly not there by choice. He had a strained smile on his face as he looked down at the filly walking slightly in front of him.

The filly was small, smaller that Pinchy would be now. Her face was a swirl of anguish and confusion, but she still wore a smile. She looked over her shoulder at the stallion following her, and Minuette noticed that her dark raspberry mane was tied back in two pigtails. She said something to the pony behind her as they continued to walk down the hall.

As they drew closer, Minuette noted that the little filly didn’t have a cutie mark on her plum purple coat. And as she looked at the stallion, a strange sensation came over her. She felt like she recognized this pony, or at least she had seen him somewhere.

“We’ll come back tomorrow, okay?” the stallion said to the filly as the two drew closer. “You heard what the doctors said. She needs rest.” The two ponies reached Minuette and Berry and the stallion looked up at them. “Oh, excuse us.”

“No problem…” Minuette said as she stared at the stallion. Frustrated that she couldn’t place where she knew this pony from, she looked down at the small filly before her. Two fuchsia eyes looked up at her and the little mare smiled for a moment, but then she and her apparent father continued walking along.

“Berry…?” Minuette’s blood ran cold as she watched the pair go. It was the eyes. The eyes made everything fall into place. She had seen that stallion before, in a picture. And he had been standing next to the little filly with him, as well as a third pony. “Where are we?”

Berry was shaking now, her body trembling so fiercely that Minuette worried she would shake herself out of time. But the mare didn’t answer her wife’s question. Instead, she forced herself to move forward, taking one step at a time as she drew closer to a room at the end of the hallway.

Minuette caught up with her in two seconds. They reached the door together, and Minuette was fairly certain she knew who was on the other side of it. One look at her wife’s face—a torrent of emotions that Minuette couldn’t begin to name—was all it took for her to be certain.

The two ponies stood at the door for three minutes and fourteen seconds, Berry staring at the knob like it was a poisonous snake and Minuette unsure of what she should do. Finally, the Unicorn forced her mouth to speak.

“Um…why don’t you wear your mane like that anymore?” Berry didn’t answer. She didn’t even seem to realize Minuette was standing next to her, much less speaking. “Too messy? I mean, your mane’s pretty wavy now, and it looks like it was a swirling typhoon when you were younger, so I bet bunching it up like that made it really hard to…”

Minuette trailed off, fighting the growing panic in her chest and tears in her eyes. Her wife was drowning in her mind, and if she didn’t reach out a hoof, there was a chance Berry would crumple into something that Minuette wasn’t sure she’d be able to save her from.

“Berry?” Minuette touched Berry’s chin with her hoof and gently turned her wife’s head so they could look at each other. “Hey, babe,” she whispered, struggling to keep her voice in check, “listen to me. We…you don’t have to do this. I…I know you don’t like to talk about this, so we can leave. I can pull us out right now, send us back, and we…we can try again.”

Berry’s eyes finally focused on the pony in front of her. “You…can do that?”

Minuette wanted to say yes. She saw the longing in her wife’s perfect face, marred by grief that was climbing out of the darkest part of Berry’s soul. She wanted to banish that pain back to the abyss, no matter the cost. She would have gone to the ends of…everything if it would prove to be enough, but she knew that lying would only warp the grief into something much worse.

“I…can try.” So Minuette compromised instead. She didn’t want to dash Berry’s hopes, but she didn’t want to raise them so they could fall from a higher place. “But whatever’s causing time to twist is starting to diminish. If we leave now and get back to that voidy place, I might be able to push us further back.”

“Might?”

Minuette’s ears drooped and her eyes found Berry’s legs. “Yes. I…” She swallowed, almost too afraid to force the next words out because of what they meant. “The magic I need to travel like this is fading. Once it’s gone, we’ll snap back to our own time if we’re in the void. And I can’t promise that, if we do go back now, there will be enough magic left for me to even try a second time. We might just end up waiting to be shove back to our time.”

For two painful minutes, Berry remained silent and Minuette dared not raise her eyes from the floor.

“So, we either risk this chance for a better opportunity,” Berry finally said, a bit of strength returning to her voice, “or I take what you gave me?”

Minuette winched at the mention of herself. “Uh-huh.”

“Tell me, Collie. One thousand percent truthful. What are the odds you could take us to another time?”

Minuette stilllooked at the floor as she focused her mind. She could feel the time magic slowly receding. When she had first felt it, it was as if she had fallen into the deep end of a pool. Now, if she stretched her legs, she could just barely touch the bottom and keep her head up. The magic was bleeding away at a slow but steady pace. If they stayed here, they probably had a few hours at most.

But if they moved, if they shifted the magic again, it would go away faster, like water being splashed out of the pool. If it was just Minuette, she figured she’d be all right. She kind of knew how to move through time, but Berry was another story. The two of them would cause a huge ripple, and after it settled, Minuette wasn’t certain there would be enough magic left.

“I would say…thirty-two percent chance,” Minuette whispered. “At best. Probably less.” She hated herself for giving those numbers. She wanted them to be higher. She wanted to tell Berry that they could go anywhere she wanted without worry, but she couldn’t. She dared not risk taking this chance away from the Earth pony, even if it was a horrible chance.

I’m making her choose between the worst time in her life, and a lifetime of regret. What kind of monster am I?

The thought threatened to rip Minuette’s mind to shreds, and the Unicorn felt her knees begin to give out. Then a single hoof lifted her head and she found herself wrapped in a hug and pressed against the body she loved.

“I’ve never been a good gambler, Collie,” Berry whispered as she buried her face in Minuette’s neck. “Drink my flank off, sure, but my luck’s shit. Landing you and Pinchy are the only times I’ve ever been lucky.”

“Flatterer,” Minuette choked as she squeezed her wife.

“Just…promise me you’ll help. With…what comes next.”

Minuette felt a tear leave her blue eyes. “Of course,” she replied, and then the mares pulled apart. Minuette brushed her doctor’s coat a few times with her front hoof to straighten it, then used her magic to adjust the little nurse’s hat on Berry’s head. Finally, she turned to the door in front of them. “Do you want to open it?”

“I…” Berry took a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes. “You do it. I’ll follow.”

“Enjoy the view,” Minuette said, swishing her tail in Berry’s face as she stepped forward.

“Not as good as mine,” her wife countered, and Minuette smiled. At least Berry was trying to put on a brave face. Whether or not she’d be able to hold it once they entered the room was another story.

Minuette wrapped the doorknob in her magic and turned it, then slowly pulled the door open. She took a breath and walked into the room as quietly as she could, thinking the patient might be asleep.

The room was a typical hospital room in every way. Sterile white walls and floor mixed with the soft blues of blankets, beds, and curtains. A single window provided a nice view of the lawn outside and let in comforting sunlight. A vase on a bedside table was filled to bursting with flowers, giving a vibrant splash of color to the whole place.

And on the bed lay a pony that Minuette had only ever seen in pictures. She recognized her immediately, mostly due to the fact that she had recognized the two visitors they had passed in the hall, but also because she had caught Berry looking at her pictures quietly from time to time. The Unicorn had never pried too deeply whenever she’d seen Berry looking at the mare’s photos. She usually just ended up sitting next to her in silence, listening to the few things that Berry would say about each one.

The mare in the bed was the same mare from the photos, but she looked frail. Her dark pink coat, only a few shades different from Berry’s, was faded in color. The shine was gone, likely a result of having to stay in bed for longer and longer periods of time. Her muscles were withered, making her body look like it was almost a skeleton with flesh and fur stretched over it. Her mane—Minuette recognized Berry’s signature waves and curls in it—was thinning, and what should have been a blaze of reds and purples was instead closer to dying embers

Two green eyes—Pinchy’s eyes—slowly opened and turned to look at Minuette as she entered. A smile appeared on the mare’s face then, and while she still looked like a ghost, life seemed to ooze into her body with the gesture.

Just how close to the end did we come?

“Hello, doctor,” the mare said. Her voice was smoother than any wine Berry had ever made, and Minuette marveled at how strong it was despite the state of the pony it came from. “I...don’t think I’ve seen you before. But if I have, I’m sorry for forgetting you.” The mare closed her eyes and smiled to herself. It was a long time before she opened them again. “I’m afraid it’s getting harder for me to…remember things. I’m so tired, you see…”

Minuette swallowed the lump that had grown to the size of an orange in her throat. “That’s…quite alright, Mrs. Punch. My name is—”

The mare waved a hoof—weakly, but Minuette saw a hint of Berry in the gesture—and shook her head. “I’m too tired to…be so formal. Call me Sangria.”

“Very well,” Minuette said. She took three seconds to taste the name on her tongue. It was one she had never heard spoken outside of her wife’s weakest moments. “Sangria.”

“Mm…” Sangria closed her eyes and nestled herself against her pillows. “Sounds…spicy when you say it.” Her green eyes opened again. “So what can I do for you, Doctor…?”

“Ah, of course!” Minuette said to stall for time. “Colgate. Doctor R. Colgate.”

“Colgate?” Sangria asked. “Any…any relation to the Colgate family in Canterlot?”

Minuette bit her lip. She knew she shouldn’t have used her real name, but she had panicked and it had just popped in. “Yes. Distant relation though.”

“Hm…so, as I was saying, what can I…?” Sangria trailed off as her green eyes looked past Minuette. The Unicorn turned her head to follow the pony’s gaze and saw Berry standing behind her.

Minuette had seen Berry hit some low points in her life, some of them more frightening than others. The first time had been when they had first screwed each other—Berry had been beyond insistent on using that term to describe it at the time. To Minuette, it had been a special moment, but to Berry it had just been another mare to grind until she was satisfied and passed out drunk—or at least, it should have been. But something had broken in Berry that time; Minuette had shattered something in her, and the experience had left the Earth pony as a heap of raw emotions, weeping in the bed, yelling at Minuette to get out one moment, then pleading with her to stay the next. It had gone on for over an hour, and had only ended when Berry had curled up and fallen asleep, whispering that she wanted the Unicorn to stay, but wouldn’t be angry if she was gone when she woke up.

There had been a few other times when Berry had broken down, sometimes involving Pinchy, others involving gossip around town, but Minuette had always remembered that first instance because she had never seen a pony more utterly destroyed than Berry had been at that moment.

But now Minuette realized that there was a level of Berry’s anguish that she had never thought physically possible. The mare that had caused Minuette to climax so hard that she had pulled a hind leg muscle and then had curled up into a sobbing ball on the bed seconds later looked like a pillar of strength compared to the Berry that stood behind Minuette now.

Berry’s pupils had grown so large that her eyes were nearly black. The smile on her face was too tight, stretching the veins in her neck so they looked like wires jutting out of her body. Her face looked worse that Sangrai’s, the skin pulled in so many direction that Minuette swore she could hear it ripping. Her nostrils were closing and opening too fast, almost as if they were eyelids trying to blink away dust. Her tongue was skipping behind her teeth, lunging at them like an animal behind a white cage. Her body shook as if she was freezing to death, but sweat poured from her like a pony trapped on Princess Celestia’s sun, staining her white nurse outfit.

One push. One tap. One simple breeze would be all it would take to scatter Berry to the four corners of Equestria. She looked as if her body was coming apart on a level so small that science had not found a name for it, and it was taking all of her strength simply to remain present and tangible.

“Heeelloooo nurse,” Sangria said, a hint of fire in her voice, “…Who is…your luscious companion, Doctor Colgate?”

“Yes,” Minuette said, not completely registering the actual words Sangria spoke. She was terrified to look away from her wife, fearing that she might vanish if she did, but she forced herself to look back at the pony in the bed. “This is Nurse…”

“Noir,” Berry said in a voice that cracked in a thousand different ways. “Pinot Noir, ma’am.”

“A favorite…of mine,” Sangria said. She waved Berry forward, and Minuette watched her wife carefully put one hoof in front of the other until she stood side-by-side with Minuette. “Do you…think you could turn around…for me?”

Berry didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned around in a slow circle, showing off her body and taking care not to brush Minuette’s chin with her tail as she did. When she finished, she faced Sangria again. “Like that?”

“Very…nice,” Sangria said. She leaned back in her bed and closed her eyes again. While it was only for two-dozen seconds, it seemed like a day passed before she spoke again. “Tell me, Noir…”

Minuette and Berry waited with baited breath, but when Sangria didn’t finish her sentence, Berry prompted, “Yes?”

“Sorry,” Sangria said with a small smile. “Perhaps the Doctor…would be a better pony to ask.”

Minuette swallowed. She ran a dental clinic back in Ponyville, so she was sort of familiar with basic medical stuff. But she was a far cry from a doctor, or even a nurse. If Sangria asked for anything specific, they were going to be in trouble.

“Go ahead,” Minuette offered, bracing herself for the worst.

“Could you tell me…” Sangria locked her eyes with Minuette and a familiar smile—the smile Berry used when she was up to something naughty—crossed her pale face. “Does Noir there…taste as good as she looks?”

Minuette felt her jaw drop and she heard a gasp. Whether it was hers or Berry’s, she couldn’t tell. Maybe it came from both of them.

Author's Note:

Bonus points to anypony who understands what makes Berry's code name special. And no, it's not because it's a drink.

Comments

[Zeck]

7660564 I'm not sure how you missed it, but I do admit I found it a bit odd that I hadn't heard from you on this one. You always comment on my stories, which does make me smile. Guess this means I better start working on this one again.

And I'll finish up The Sunken King now, too, since you asked. That one kind of fell off my radar, seeing as it wasn't drawing too much interest, but since you asked, I'll get it finished. Hope you enjoy Dark Souls. You're in for a treat--assuming the game doesn't kick you in the teeth. Blightown is usually the make or break point for a lot of players.

[Sphinx_Herald]

7663390 Are you saying you missed me? Ah, well that's nice, didn't know I meant so much to some people . Anyways, good story, while I do love action-y stories, these more narrative/ emotional ones are always great. Just finished the second chapter, and I'll guess that ending up in a hospital wasn't a screw up. Really nice cliffhanger by the way.

On the note of Dark Souls, I have managed to pass Blightown, it was long, hard, and laggy, but I managed. Personally, I found Sen's Fortress to be more challenging. Well, until next time,
-Sphinx

[Meta Four]

Bonus points to anypony who understands what makes Berry's code name special. And no, it's not because it's a drink.

I believe Pinot Noir was Lauren Faust's favorite wine and her preferred name for the pony we call Berry Punch.