Berry Punch in the Big City

by bahatumay

Chapter 3--New Start

Thanks to The Fuzzy Necromancer for valuable input.

“Mommy?” Ruby asked. “Why did the lady laugh when you told her how much you wanted to pay?”

Berry had to work very hard to not say, 'same reason I laughed when I bucked her in the face so hard she could look out her butthole'. Instead, she smiled. “I'm not sure. I guess ponies are just different in the city.”

She knew the real reason, of course. The first thing Redheart had warned her about was that everything in the city was a bit more expensive. She didn't realize just how much more, though. So when Berry had named the price range she was willing to pay for housing, the agent had burst out laughing, before she realized that Berry was serious. She then laughed harder before finally pointing to a few areas that might have apartments in her range.

They wandered, walking deeper into the city and into the lower parts of town. Here, the buildings were a bit more spread out and a bit older, and the roads slightly less smooth. Berry scanned the scene with a protective mother's eyes. She didn't want a place that was too run-down, but she sure couldn't afford some of the higher places. Heck, she didn't even have a job yet!

Berry shook her head and fought her desire for a drink. Some things never change. That didn't help when they trotted by the door of a bar. Berry suppressed a sigh. It's not like she would have minded going inside and getting wasted. Now, though, that was impossible. Honestly, the first thing she did when she realized that she was indeed a vampony was try to drink that pain away. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it), her body responded differently to alcohol now.

As in, her body was almost no longer affected by alcohol. The same thing that made her immune to all poisons also made her incapable of being drunk. It probably involved her body not having blood flowing, or something about her body miraculously restoring itself about thirty seconds after every injury that boosted her alcohol tolerance (already at astronomical levels) skyward.

That was NOT on the list of perks of being a vampony.

An obviously drunk stallion leered at her from an alleyway. Berry shot him the most convincing death glare she could, and his eyes widened before he turned and fled.

Maybe it was the undead-ness, but ever since she had been turned, her death glare (honed to perfection from her years as a bartender) had become almost weaponized. That was definitely a perk.

* * *

To those who say miracles are impossible in this day, Berry would point to the fact that she ended up finding an apartment that fit her budget—before dinner time. Ruby hadn't complained one bit, but she also hadn't protested at her mother's command to ride on her back, even with all the luggage Berry was dragging. She didn't mind, what with her vampony strength and endurance; but little Pinchy had no such perk. Her tiny hooves would probably be sore tomorrow, but Berry took a small comfort in knowing that at least now Ruby would have a safe place to call her own for a while.

At least, she hoped this place was safe. The landlady was not the politest pony Berry had met, the complex itself certainly wasn't anything special, and the pair of Solar Guards patrolling the general area didn't help matters any. On the brighter side, though, the middle courtyard was kindof a nice touch, and their apartment was on the second floor. (1)

Berry mumbled to herself as she counted the apartments. “Twenty one... twenty-three.” Holding the key in her mouth, she tried to open the door. Earth ponies never seemed to like keys, for obvious reasons. (2)

“Can I try, Mommy?”

Berry nodded and took a step back. Ruby lit her horn and screwed her face up in concentration. She tried, but she was just too young, and her magic was too weak to even take the key from her mother's mouth. After a few minutes, she hung her head in defeat. Berry ruffled her mane gently. “Keep practicing, Pinchy. You'll get it.”

Berry also struggled with the key, but eventually she succeeded. Ruby ran in, and Berry followed.

At least, she attempted to. To her horror, she felt her face hit the same resistance as before, and she couldn't enter. How did that make any sense? This was HER house! Her house! She was the one paying for it! How come she couldn't get in?

Well, then again, she owned her house in Ponyville and couldn't get in there, either; so in some really sadistic way, this made perfect sense.

Unable to cross the threshold, she stood there awkwardly as Ruby looked around their new but temporary home. “It's.... nice....” Ruby said hesitantly.

“It's small,” Berry said flatly, clearly inviting more criticism.

“And kindof dirty,” Ruby amended.

“Yep. But it's home for now.”

The filly turned back. “Aren't you going to come in?”

Berry exhaled, relieved. She took a step forward... and hit that invisible door again. Apparently, that wasn't enough of an invitation. Although her mind ran through a very long list of profane expressions, she put a playful smile on her face. “I don't know, Pinchy... I kindof like it out here.” She looked around, as if appreciating the view. Scruffy grass, scarred walls, various holes that might have been from crossbow bolts...

“Mommy, you're silly,” Ruby giggled.

Berry just stood there, still smiling but completely helpless. She was simply unable to enter her own apartment.

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Come on, Mommy, we gotta unpack and get ready and move in so we can go get dinner, so come in already!”

If that wasn't an invitation, nothing was. Berry sighed with relief as she was finally permitted to step inside. Once inside, she scanned the walls with a critical eye (that just so happened to be able to see perfectly in the dim light—perk number two). The term “dingy” seemed to fit best. It looked as though the previous occupants had made just a token attempt at cleaning at best, if that. The room smelled of cheap cleaning supplies and vinegar. Berry Punch crinkled her nose at the smell. Somehow, she remembered that vinegar was good for masking strong scents, like blood, or other bodily fluids.

Growling at that particular mental image, she returned to her inspection.

As Ruby Pinch walked back to her bedroom to start unpacking, Berry Punch slumped on the couch—and was promptly interrupted by a pain in her back. Thanks to perk number four (higher pain tolerance) it was more of an annoyance than dangerous, but getting stabbed would annoy anypony. Tired and frustrated, she was half-tempted to just lay there anyway; but decided against it. She lifted herself up to see a thick, sharp wire sticking out of the couch at least an inch and a half. Now infuriated at the previous owners (what if Pinchy had been the first on the couch?), she quickly checked to see if Ruby was looking and, finding herself alone, leaned down and bent the wire back with her mouth. She bounced once, to see if that had fixed the problem, but still it dug into her ribs. Now annoyed, she leaned down, clamped her teeth firmly on the offending metal piece, and physically ripped it out.

The couch responded to this abuse by promptly collapsing.

Amid a mess of fabric and wood splinters and poky metal, all she could do was sigh. Welcome home, Berry, she thought.

* * *

A few hours and a light supper later, Berry looked out at the courtyard. Ruby had asked permission to go play, which had been granted, and now Berry kept a close eye on her daughter from the second story railing right outside their door. Her sensitive hearing picked up a pony approaching from behind, and she turned to look. The door to the apartment next to her opened, and out came a little earth pony colt, with gray fur and a yellow mane. He nodded hello to Berry before scampering down the stairs. As he passed, Berry Punch could smell drugs on his body, and quickly decided that this little colt shouldn't play with Ruby. Which, of course, was obviously his plan.

Before Berry could think of a good way to scare him off, another voice rang out. “Be careful!” called a mare that could only have been his mother. She stuck her head outside, and Berry realized that this was the actual source of the smell. Her mane was stringy, one of her front teeth was missing, and the fur on her front legs was patchy. She had obviously been a user for a long time.

What did I get myself in to? Berry briefly wondered, before the mare turned to face her. “Hey! Welcome to the neighborhood!”

Berry smiled lamely. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The newcomer returned inside her apartment, and Berry resumed watching. The colt was watching Ruby as she played in the sandbox, and obviously trying to think of a good way to approach her. She quickly ran through various scenarios in her head, trying to think of a good way to scare him, without scarring him for life.

Well, maybe that was too harsh a restriction. Scars exist temporarily, right? As if of its own accord, her hoof reached up and ran along the scar that lay on her cheek, hidden underneath her fur.

No. Scars last forever. Even when her body reset itself, that scar came back.

She fought to stop herself from going down that mental path again, and was thankfully saved by the return of her neighbor, holding out a bottle of wine. Berry Punch instantly recognized it as the cheapest brand on the market, with a weak flavor which was offset by a high alcohol content.

“It's like a housewarming gift,” she explained.

Berry Punch realized the implications of the offered bottle.

This was a time for redefining herself! This was a time to be whoever she wanted to be!

And it was at about this time that she took the proffered bottle, popped it open with her practiced teeth, and chugged the bottle.

The mare stared, impressed.

“Yeah,” Berry said, brusquely wiping her lips with a foreleg. “You should see me when I'm not trying to kick the habit.”

The mare finally spoke. “Autumn Leaf,” she introduced herself.

“Berry Punch.”

“I think you'll get along fine here.”

Berry Punch gave a wry smile, and then looked down to see that Ruby and the other colt playing together. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that these two would be a big part of her life here—and she wasn't sure if she liked that idea or not.

Ruby Pinch's diery entery
todAy we moved into our new Aparrtment. Its kindof small but I like it. I druw a picture of the outside.

I met a nice colt today!! This is him:

He is gray like Dinkys momma. I thinK all gray ponies are nice.
Im worried about momma. I saw her drinking on the porch with Sandys momma. That's the colts name I met today. It sortof sounds like a filly name but he dosn't care.
I hope she will be ok heer.

Comments

[bahatumay]

All right. I updated all the chapters at once, because I hate it when just one chapter updates and it clogs up my favorites feed. Prologue has new dialogue for Sunshine, chapter one has the scene between Berry and Redheart rewritten, chapter two gave Berry a few additional lines.

1) You know, in a world with pegasi, this probably isn't as safe as it is in real life.
2) If you've never tried opening a locked door with your mouth... I recommend keeping it that way. People give you funny looks, especially if your hands aren't full.
3) That really awkward moment when you realize that you can draw straighter lines holding the pencil like a kindergartener than when you hold it normally...

[Wolvan]

Read the 4 chapters in like 3h and I just have to say one thing:
Please get your next chapters out ASAP

[bahatumay]

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