Coconut Punch

Chapters

Mares' Night Out
Roadtrip!
Home a-Pone 2: Lost in Manehatten
C̶o̶c̶o̶ MISS Pommel
Horsing Around *Canned Laughter*
Punching the Clock
Berrying the Hatchet

Mares' Night Out

Author's Note

scholastic thinks i'm like. worth acknowledgement.

Mares' Night Out

"Not only no, but hell no," was Vinyl's simple answer to Berry's request.

"Vinyl. My main mare. My best friend in high school. Some might even say more than friends, back in those days. Why not?" She replied, barely sober enough from yesterday night to understand and formulate complete sentences.

"You know I've been six months sober. I'd rather not be around alcohol right now, and I know you're only inviting me because you got your license taken away and you need a designated driver," Vinyl said. She was inspecting and cleaning her turntables with careful precision. "By the way, I think you should attend those AA meetings with me. Ever since I've stopped drinking, my music's been-"

"Ahahaha. Yeah, let me just quote one of Ponyville's most boring citizens, here- 'Not only no, but hell no.' Piss off. You were never my friend anyway and you've already figured out my scheme, so I'm just going to peace out," Berry interrupted, quickly turning around and trotting out of the door. She just as quickly trotted back through it. "...Can I have a piece of gum?" She said, gesturing toward the pack that was set neatly on Vinyl's dining room table.

"Knock yourself out," the unicorn said, still staring at her work.

Berry snatched up a piece out of the pack before leaving again. She groaned when she popped the piece in her mouth. It was just regular mint, not spearmint, but she guessed it would have to do in getting rid of the distinct scent of alcohol that was still on her breath. Before throwing away the wrapper, she noticed something written on the inside of it.

815-555-9372: the Ponyville Anonymous Subtance Abuse Hotline.

"Vinyl, you shitnoggin," Berry whispered to herself before tossing it in the trash.

As she continued to walk around Ponyville, still attempting to find somepony to go to Manehatten with her to no avail, Berry fumed under her breath about Vinyl implying she was an alcoholic. Nopony was allowed to say that except Berry Punch herself and sometimes her mother when she was expressing her disappointment in the young mare's life choices. What made Vinyl so great? Just half a year ago, they would spend hours at the Leaky Trough together, the local bar. Unfortunately for Berry, it was one of the only bars in Ponyville due to the conservative outlook most ponies had on drinking. What was this, some sort of kiddy Saturday morning cartoon?

It was a perfectly normal activity for adult ponies to participate in and she resented the fact that everypony else thought they were better than her just because they were sober. Vinyl, Golden Harvest, and Cherry Berry were really her only true friends. Unfortunately for her, Cherry moved back to Vanhoover to take care of her sickly mother, and Golden Harvest decided to leave her wild days behind her in exchange for adopting a couple of foals to raise as her own. She used to find solace in having Vinyl as a drinking buddy, but now she was one of those stuck-up mares with...with "jobs", and "families"...

...and friends...

Berry snapped herself out of it. "I'll go myself," she muttered. "Who needs them? Maybe there's mares in Manehatten who actually know how to have some fun." She then had to consider how, exactly, she was going to get around. Vinyl was right- the only reason she invited her in the first place was because she REALLY needed a designated driver. Her license had been revoked. She couldn't exactly afford to get a taxi considering how far away Manehatten was, either, and she had been kicked off pretty much every form of public transportation.

Suddenly, a grin spread over her face as she formulated a plan. A really good plan. Could it get her in legal trouble? Sure, but what was one more tarnish on her never-ending list of offenses? She giggled under her breath. "Ohoho, Berry Punch, you scoundrel!"
---

It was an open secret in Ponyville that the police force was a) useless, considering that the Elements of Harmony all lived there and could defeat any serious threat as quickly as it appeared, and b) incredibly gullible and incompetent. Both of these facts were due to the peacefulness of Ponyville aside from when the Big Bads swept through once in awhile.

For these reasons, Berry Punch had been manipulating the police force before she even learned what the word "manipulation" meant. (Which was at age 19.) Though they knew her as a troublemaker, it didn't take much more than a "It won't happen again, officer" to convince them that she was truly sorry of whatever crime she had committed (usually something along the lines of "disturbing the peace" or "public intoxication.") Sometimes she could even convince them that Discord or some other evil had cast a spell on her that caused her to spew vomit everywhere and cuss out a light pole. Ponyville citizens truly were far too forgiving.

There was a new addition to the police force transferred over from Los Pegasus. The pony had just arrived in Ponyville a week prior, and as far as Berry knew, the mare hadn't noticed her yet. She was obviously new to the police force or in the least inexperienced- rumor had it that she was transferred over to Ponyville because she was unable to handle the crime rates in Las Pegasus. Ponyville was becoming well-known for being the place where incompetent or soft officers were sent. All the better for Berry.

The fuchsia mare made a mental note of what the officer looked like and began to look for her around town. Her memory wasn't too great from years of spoiling her liver, so she had to focus hard in order to remember what she was doing at any given moment. "Pegasus, brown mane, orange coat. Pegasus, brown mane, orange coat," she repeated to herself. Berry had a hard time recognizing faces. In all honesty, they all looked the same to her, their eyes only sometimes distinguishing them. She had no idea how other ponies managed to tell one another apart.

Eventually, Berry came across the horse she had been looking for. She took a quick glance at her uniform and learned that her name was Officer Pops. What was her first name again? She had to rack her brain...

Oh, right. Lolly. Punny names were very in back in the 90s.

Berry put on the most pitiful and hopeless looking face she possibly could before approaching the policemare from behind and tapping her on the shoulder. "O-officer Pops, I..."

The pegasus turned around and looked her up and down. "Hey," she said finally, "Aren't you that pony that I was warned about talking to? Berry Punch, is it?"

Berry felt her stomach flop. She guessed that the Ponyville police force weren't as gullible as she thought they were. Suddenly, a light in her head switched, and she remembered her know-it-all smartass unicorn twin sister studying in Canterlot. She had decided to dedicate her life to becoming a renowned shrink. She specialized in- you guessed it- substance abuse. Something about how watching their parents suffer from alcoholism first-hoof made her want to help others with the same issue. Such a weirdo.

"No, you've got it all wrong! I'm Berryshine, her twin. You've got to believe me, I'm in big trouble and I need your help!"

"Berryshine, huh?" the officer took a step toward Berry suspiciously. "Isn't Berryshine a unicorn?"

"No, no, no! You must have it backwards. Happens all the time!" Punch laughed nervously. "I'm the earth pony, my sister is the unicorn!"

"So where's Berry Punch? And where's your daughters?"

"Berry Punch is up in Canterlot babysitting Piña and Ruby while I..." Berry took in a theatrical breath and sighed. "Well, I'm actually not supposed to be in Ponyville, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I must have hopped on the wrong train or slept through my stop or something, because I was supposed to get off in Manehatten and I ended up here instead. I'm supposed to give a very important presentation while I'm there, and if I don't get there by tomorrow, I'm going to miss it! I don't have enough bits left over to get there, either!"

The officer considered this for a moment, so Berry Punch pressed on in an attempt to further convince her. "The...results I've been having from my, er....studies....are groundbreaking! Absolutely world-shaking! They could change the way we study psychology forever!"

"Really," Officer Pops said. "Well, I don't know. Manehatten's pretty far off. Sounds to me like the quickest way to get there"- She put on a pair of sunglasses and smiled- "would be with a police escort. Let's go, Berryshine! You've got minds to blow!"

Roadtrip!

"So, Berryshine," Officer Pops spoke up from behind her driver's wheel, "tell me, what's this presentation going to be about?"

"Well, it's sort of a secret," Punch replied, lounging in the passenger's seat. "I'm actually not supposed to tell anypony until I give the presentation itself."

"You know, I very much admire your work," Lolly continued. "I actually wanted to be a forensic psychologist, but I decided to become a cop instead. The student loans were too much for me to pursue my master's. Weird how career paths change like that."

"Yes, very weird," Berry said, staring at the pegasus's cutie mark distantly. It was a pair of hoofcuffs. Not the most welcoming cutie mark in the world.

"You're sure that you can't even give the slightest of a hint? I'm sorry, I know I'm badgering you, I just find this stuff so interesting!"

"No, I'm sorry-"

"Then you're under arrest," Pops responded, staring Berry in the eye with a fierce intensity. The earth pony felt her stomach twist up into tight little knots. How did she find her out? How did sh-

Lolly started laughing heartily. "Oh...oh, Jesus. That's always such a hoot. Pretending to be a crooked cop is so hilarious, don't you think? I'm just playing with you, Shine. Is it okay if I call you that?" Before Berry could respond, she continued speaking. "Anyways, I actually have my B.A. in psychology, though I'm not really putting it to good use now, I suppose. You know, I've always found experiments on learned helplessness exceedingly interesting, especially the one conducted by Seligman. How do you feel about it?"

Oh, shit. "Uhm....well, I....find it interesting too, what with the...learned helplessness..."

Lolly blinked a couple of times at this response. "Well, don't be so modest, Shine, ahaha. What element of the psyche makes you think that the dogs reacted the way they did to the electric shocks that were administered? It seems so counter-survival for the animals to give into their-"

Punch pretended to fall asleep to escape the conversation, which very clearly went over her head. Oh Celestia stop asking questions I barely even managed to get a high school education can this bitch please just leave me alone and let me be a dumbass in peace, she thought.

"Oh, jeez. Must've been up all night researching, huh? Well." Lolly Pops tapped her steering wheel with the tips of her hooves. She scratched behind her ears and coughed a couple of times. Berry had to secretly wonder if the mare would ever shut up. She didn't.

"Guess I'm just going to...turn on the radio...but that might wake her up, so that may be a bad idea. Hmm."

Oh my Celestia, does this bitch know how to think without using her vocal cords? Berry thought to herself.

"Pew, pew, pew pew peeew," Lolly said, as if answering Berry's thoughts, pretending to shoot other cars passing by with her hoof. "Pew, pew, pew pew..."

"Will you JUST SHUT UP?!" Berry suddenly piped up, her eyes still shut. The car was silent and thick with tension. She could feel Lolly's eyes burning into her face, likely filled with shock that the kind and patient Berryshine had lost it. It was a few seconds before Punch decided that it would be best if she pretended that she was talking in her sleep. "You...uh...you mean duck, bring me back my cupcake! Shut up, stupid duck!" She muttered lamely.

Lolly, the ever-gullible, seemed to be satisfied with this continuation. She muttered to herself, "Sleep-talker, huh? That reminds me of this one time when I was-"

When Berry woke up a couple of hours later, she assumed that her body must have forced her to fall asleep out of pure annoyance and mental torment. At least they were almost in Manhattan at this point.

"Oh, hey, you're awake!" Lolly said. "Did you know you talk in your sleep? I actually read a really interesting study about how sleep-talking is-"

Berry interrupted her before Pops could get into any more psychological mumbo-jumbo that she didn't understand. "Oh, wow, are you hungry? Because I am super hungry, how about you?"

"Really? did somebody ring a bell, or something?" Lolly replied. Berry stared at her, having absolutely no idea what she was going on about. Then Pops burst out laughing. Nervously, Punch joined in.

Finally, the laughter died down. "Just a nice little psychology joke to start off the day," Officer Pops chuckled. "Right, well, I always keep some snacks in my car just in case. Here, have an apple."

Berry Punch ate the apple ravenously. She actually hadn't had a meal since yesterday morning, and she didn't want to drink on an empty stomach once she arrived to Manehatten. It was good. She felt something bubbling inside of her belly...something like...happiness? Or like she was doing something wrong? Is this what gratefulness or...maybe even...guilt... felt like?

She burped. All better!

"Well, we're finally here!" Officer Pops said, opening her door to let the light magenta mare out right on the outskirts of the borough. "Good luck on your presentation, okay? Be safe! I'm sure I'll hear about it all the way to Ponyville!" She shut the door and began her journey back. Punch stared at the car driving off.

Now that she was actually here, Berry wasn't 100% sure what she was planning. She must have forgotten. "Shit," she whispered under her breath. She decided that she should pick up some real food- she couldn't think on an empty stomach. However, she had to take extra care not to spend TOO much money on food while she was in Manehatten, considering that she still needed to be able to afford the trip home on a bus. She wasn't counting on any bus drivers in Manehatten recognizing her and refusing to let her ride, considering that this was one of the few cities where she had no track record. She found a carrot-dog stand and she fished through her saddlebags for bits-

Wait.

She didn't bring her saddlebags.

"OH, SHIIIIIT!"

Home a-Pone 2: Lost in Manehatten

Author's Note

As someone who has spent a good amount of time in NYC, mostly Manhatten, in her lifetime, I'm going to draw from my own experiences here. Hope you guys find it entertaining.

Home a-Pone 2: Lost in Manehatten

"Curse you, drunk me!" Berry muttered under her breath. She really didn't think that far ahead when she was under the influence. She manipulated a cop, but what would she think when she returned to Ponyville? The jig would be up. That was if she even COULD return to Ponyville, considering that she had been so wasted at the time that she forgot to bring any money at all. She might just be stuck here for a while. Now that she thought of it, that's probably a plausible reason as to how she ended up in Ponyville- with her poor memory, it was difficult to remember why she ever moved there in the first place.

Well, at least the scenery in Manehatten was nice. Maybe she could pick up a quick job here so she could make enough bits to have a little fun and go back home. This was the heart of the land of opportunity, after all. If she really needed to make a quick buck, she could use her skills as a con artist- but then again, this was the land of con artists, too, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to play in the big leagues.

Berry trotted around through a sea of ponies, trying to find anywhere to go or anypony that could help her. She was unsure if the calloused nature of the big city folks could be broken with her charm, but she would be damned if she didn't try. She stopped the nicest-looking pony she could- a small unicorn mare with a fluffy pink jacket.

"Hi, Miss," Berry said. "Look, I'm gonna level with you, I lost my saddlebags and I don't have enough bits to get home. Is there any way you could spare some-"

"Welcome to Manehatten, you putz," the unicorn said, walking right past her.

Well, damn, Berry thought. It doesn't look like begging's the answer. Oh, well. It was worth a shot. She guessed that now was the best time to actually start looking for a short gig somewhere.

She continued trotting well into the evening. Every time she tried to approach somepony, they easily sniffed out her lies. At this point, her hooves were tired and she wanted nothing more than a place to sleep- unless she was willing to sleep on a bench for the night in Manehatten, it didn't seem like she'd be getting any. Suddenly, her eye was caught by a small pale yellow mare selling clothes on the street. Her business seemed to be doing fairly well, actually.

"Thank you, come again. Enjoy your mittens," she said in a sweet and trusting voice. Sweet and trusting, Berry thought to herself. Perfect for me.

The pink mare approached her stand with optimism. "Hi, Miss..."

"Pommel," the mare replied. "Coco Pommel. How may I help you today?"

"Well," Berry started, "I really love what you've got going here. How would you feel about me working for you?"

"Wow, really?" Coco replied. "I've never had someone work for me before...well, um, maybe I shouldn't say that. Eheh."

Berry Punch scented her nervousness like a shark scents blood in the water. "So what do you say?"

"Well..." Coco Pommel trailed off, staring at the pink pony's cutie mark. "I need to know your qualifications. I'm not really sure what fruit has to do with fashion or selling things."

Berry Punch felt her confident smile falter a bit. She was foolish to assume that this mare would be so trusting as to hire her on the spot. She thought about Berryshine. What was her weird explanation for her cutie mark being fruits, again? Something to do with reaping the fruits of her labor when her patients helped themselves become better ponies?

"Well, uh, when I first got my cutie mark, it was after designing my very first dress! I was confused as to what it meant at first, too, you see...um, I spent hours racking my brain as to what it could mean, then it hit me...uh...the cutie mark represents the FRUITS of my labor when I put hours of hard, grueling work into my designs and get to see them come to life! Yeah!"

Coco was silent for a minute. Berry Punch suddenly felt very confident that it must be because it was the worst lie she had ever heard and she had no idea how to respond. But suddenly, Coco sniffed.

"That was the..." she choked back tears. "That is so beautiful. I know exactly how you feel, Miss...?"

"The name's Berry Punch," she said. When Coco looked at her questioningly, she realized what a big mistake she had made by not making her name fashion-related. "Um, my parents screwed up when naming me, obviously. Ahahaha."

Pommel joined in the laughter. "Well, Miss Punch..." Coco took her hoof. "I think you just got yourself a job. I'll start you off with 40 bits an hour."

Berry sighed with relief. That was all she needed for bus fare, plus some to spend a little extra money at a play on Broadway and a few other luxuries. It payed even more than her current job- she was actually a tad disappointed that it had to be temporary. All she'd have to do when her work was done was ghost this town and never come back again. She was good at that. Besides, she thought, Coco will get over it eventually.

"Listen, uh, Miss Pommel..." she said. "I don't actually have a place to sleep tonight. I guess you could say that I only recently blew into town with nothing but the fur on my back." It was technically true. Coco didn't need to know the finer details.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Coco exclaimed. "You must be so cold and afraid. Listen, long ago, a good friend taught me the meaning of generosity. I've been meaning to pay it forward someday, so why don't you stay at my place tonight? And let's get you dinner on the way home, I insist. Come on, Berry, follow me."

Berry grinned mischievously as she trotted behind her new boss. She wondered how Coco ever managed to survive in a place like Manehatten.

C̶o̶c̶o̶ MISS Pommel

"This couch pulls out into a bed," Coco Pommel said, using her teeth to gently fold it out. "Let me get you some sheets from the closet." She trotted out of the living room, leaving Berry to herself for a while.

Coco's apartment was small. Spookily small. She expected a pony who participated in fashion week (or so she was told) to live somewhere far more lavish than this dump. The door of the apartment couldn't even be opened all the way without hitting the wall directly in front of it. The kitchen was just a sink and a hotplate on a counter, no table. There was a distinct lack of any furniture at all, actually, which was probably because of how little space they had to spare. There was hardly any room for one pony, let alone two, to live here, yet Coco had talked extensively about her two roommates who were already fast asleep. Where on earth did they GO? she thought. There was only one bedroom-

Wait. That must mean that Coco was sharing her tiny bedroom with two other ponies. How on earth did somepony live with so little privacy?

Berry pondered this, absent-mindedly rubbing her full belly. Coco had taken her to a small deli down the street. It was cheap and surprisingly good. She forgot how rich in culture and food Manehatten really was.

"Here you go," Coco said, shuffling into the living room with the blankets on her back. She dropped them onto the bed. "By the way, you can watch T.V. if you want, but try to keep it down. The remote's over there. We don't have cable, though."

Berry mumbled her thanks as she felt a feeling of guilt wash over her. This time, she didn't think that it had anything to do with indigestion.

Coco began to trot out of the room before turning around. "And Berry? I hope you sleep well." She smiled.

"You too, Miss Pommel," Berry said, yawning.

"You can call me Coco," the yellow earth pony chuckled.

"Right, Miss....Pommel...." the fuchsia mare replied drowsily, falling asleep immediately after she finished her sentence. Coco stared at her for a couple of seconds before retreating to her room. She walked in as quietly as possible, thinking about how she wished "roommates" didn't have to be such a literal term in her situation. She thought to herself about how she would decorate her own room if she had one to herself.

"Wow, you're up late," A bronx-accented pony chuckled in the dark.

Coco sighed and smiled. "You are too. Isn't a filly like you supposed to be asleep by now? You need your eight hours so you can grow big and strong."

"Aw, come on, Missus Pommel. You know that once a pony goes off on her own in the world, she don't count as a filly no more."

She knew that it was too dark for the young mare to see her facial expressions, but she glowered playfully anyway. "I'm not married, and my name is Coco, thank you very much. You make me feel so old with that kind of talk."

"Awww, come on. What would you rather me call you, 'Ma'?"

They chuckled heartily together.

"Will you both shut up? I've got work early tomorrow!" piped up a stallion's voice. Coco could see his shadow pop up.

"Aw, shut up yourself, Luggage Cart," the filly said. The stallion mumbled something incomprehensible before pulling his pillow over his head and crawling back onto his mattress, which was placed directly on the floor.

Coco waited to hear his snores again before she continued her conversation with the young mare, taking extra care to be more quiet than she was before. "Do you have everything you need for work tomorrow?"

"Of course!" the filly grinned. "I got my uniform, my barber kit 'n everything. Don't even worry about it, Coco."

"Oh, gosh, I'm so proud of you," Coco Pommel said. She hugged her in a tight embrace. The filly squirmed a bit uncomfortably before finally deciding to hug her back. "Sorry, Pom," she muttered. "S'just, well, you know what it's like on the streets. I'm not used to somepony putting their arms around me without them mugging me right after."

They giggled together again, but it quickly faltered when they both realized how bad it really used to be for the filly out on the streets. There was a thick silence between them once more. Coco could feel the filly's sad, large green eyes staring into her despite the darkness of the room. Suddenly, the young mare burst into quiet sobs.

"Shhh...it's okay. It's alright." Coco pulled her in and stroked her mane. "I'm sorry. I should have asked before I hugged you. Shhhhh...I know, I know. You're safe now, sweetheart. You're safe."

The filly let out a chuckle in between her sobs. "Wow, it's like you WANT me to call you Ma." She sniffed and choked up a few more sick and helpless sobs. It's easy to forget she's just a foal fighting to survive with this tough exterior, Coco mused to herself as the young mare buried her face further into her coat.

"Everything's going to be alright," Coco muttered, now stroking the filly's mane out of habit rather than an attempt to comfort at this point. "You're going to be the best barber in Manehatten."

"Aw, shut up, Missus Pommel," the filly whispered, giggling again. "That's just a pipe dream."

"No, I mean it," Coco said, pulling the filly off of her so she could look her in the eye. "You're going to be a fantastic barber, and you're going to have a fantastic first day tomorrow. Seriously. I can't think of anypony who is better at what they do than you. I think you're going to be grooming the likes of Sapphire Shores within a month, tops."

The foal wiped the last of her tears off of her face. "You think so?"

"I know so," Coco replied. "Now get some rest. That's an order."

"Uh, Missus Pommel..." the young mare started nervously. "Look, I'll go right out and ask. Is there any way I can sleep in your bed tonight? I've been having nightmares, and you uh...you make me feel a little safer."

Coco smiled warmly. "Of course, Babs."

Author's Note

I really can't write a fic without sad elements. It's like a disease lmao I can't help myself

Horsing Around Canned Laughter

"Ey! Wakey wakey, Missus Punch!"

Berry opened one eye ever-so-slightly to see a cherry-maned foal staring at her. She closed it again, hoping she hadn't noticed.

"You want some breakfast, or what? You better wake it up before you're late to work! Y'know, Missus Pommel can fire you real easy! She's a tough one, y'hear?"

"Oh Celestia, you better not feed that thing after midnight," Berry finally said, opening both of her eyes and stretching her back. She groaned as she felt her spine pop. Sleeping on the couch really didn't help with her back problems.

Babs responded to her statement with a huff and a slight grin. "Last time I checked, this is my house, toots!" said the filly. She started towards the kitchen. Berry did notice the scent of hay spam wafting through the air. Damn, this house even smelled like poverty. Nevertheless, she got up and followed the young mare.

Coco was in the kitchen along with a light blue stallion. She assumed that he must be Luggage Cart. "Hey," she said casually. Luggage was eating a bowl of cereal over the kitchen sink.

He glanced over at her. He lifted his chin in acknowledgment to Berry and looked over at Coco. "I sure hope you're planning on financing her stay," he said, taking another bite of cereal, "because there's no way I could afford it."

"Of course. Keep your voice down," Coco said, flipping the hay spam slices onto a few paper towels. Babs took hers first and immediately started eating ravenously.

"Hey, kid," Berry said, "the plate's not running away from you, last time I checked."

"Aw, up yours, you hick," Babs replied, not looking up from her meal.

Berry, offended by the comment, looked over at the two adults in the room expectantly. When neither one batted an eye at the filly's behavior, she finally spoke up. "Are you guys gonna send this kid to the time-out corner, or am I going to have to do it myself?"

"Last time I checked, there's only one pony in this room who's not paying her share of the rent," Luggage replied, chuckling. "And it's not the foal."

Berry scrunched up her nose in both offense and surprise. This kid was really helping with the rent around here? No wonder she was so keen in her attempts to boss her around.

"Well," Babs said, "I'm gonna go ahead n' head to work. Bye, Luggage! Bye, Coco!" She tossed the napkin she was eating off of in the trash and ran out the door.

"Such a good kid," Luggage muttered to himself, putting the cereal bowl in the sink.

Coco looked up from the pan she was washing. "Don't you have work, too?"

He looked at his watch. "Nah, not for another hour."

"Didn't you say you had work early?"

"I do."

"I hate to break it to you, but having work at ten in the morning actually isn't that early."

"I like to have a healthy amount of sleep, Coco, what can I say?" Luggage replied, laughing heartily. Coco joined in with him.

Berry watched their banter and wondered about the weird dynamic the three roommates had with one another. Coco nagged a couple of ponies that were otherwise calloused and independent individuals, yet they all were able to get along just fine and poke fun at one another with no hurt feelings. Berry couldn't remember the last time she had a roommate, but she knew that living with other ponies had always ended badly for her.

Coco's eyes caught a laminated card on the counter. "Oh, dear," she said. "Babs forgot her MetroCard. Come on, Berry, let's go bring it to her before she's late." Berry found herself being dragged out the door before she could even respond to Coco's request. She first took the blue-maned mare as an extremely timid pushover type of pony, sort of like Fluttershy. It turns out that she was more like a mother than a true pushover- she cared about other people and would put her tail on the line for them, but she wasn't afraid to do what was best for the wellbeing of other ponies, no matter their protests.

As far as Berry's track record went, she never particularly cared for ponies like that, but here she was, finding herself further infatuated with Coco. Her admiration for her was increasing with every interaction.

As they trotted closer to the nearest subway station, which thankfully wasn't very far away, Berry asked, "Miss Pommel, doesn't Babs have school or something? Why is she going to work?"

Coco giggled. "It's the middle of summer, Berry," she said, "And don't call me Miss Pommel. It's Coco!"

Right. Berry wasn't the most talented mare in the world when it came to remembering the date, or even the current season, for that matter. She spent most of her time inside her house or windowless bars.

They stopped a few feet behind Babs Seed, who was scowling in front the card reader and desperately searching her saddlebags for her card. A sea of ponies were shoving past her, much to Babs' chagrin.

Coco passed the MetroCard over to Berry Punch and gave her a light shove. "Go," she said, winking at her.

Berry was confused at first, but quickly got the message. She wanted Berry to personally deliver the card to the little brat to try and get Babs to like her more. She sighed and begrudgingly started toward the foal, thinking about how delivering one measly card to her wouldn't change the fact that she was:

a) a little prick, and

b) a little prick.

She tapped on Babs' shoulder gently, causing the filly to turn around defensively. "What? Huh? Whaddya want? Oh."

"Calm your hooves, kid. I brought you your MetroCard," she said, placing it in Babs' hoof.

"Aw, shucks...Well, thanks, I guess," Babs said, blushing a little bit. "You're a real lifesaver, Missus Punch." She took the card out of her hooves with her teeth, scanned it, and walked to the other side. She was just in time for the next subway. She turned around and waved at Coco and Berry before she stepped on and the doors closed behind her.

"See, Berry?" Coco smiled. "That wasn't so bad."

"I still wouldn't feed that thing after midnight," Berry muttered.

Punching the Clock

"No, Berry. That's not...oh dear, let me do it," Coco said, pulling a coat out of her grip. "You see, you have to use a slip stitch across the hem if you want it to be nice and invisible." When Berry stared at her blankly, the yellow mare rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Like this," she said, taking the needle in her mouth and demonstrating the stitch with the grace and skill of somepony who had done it thousands of times before. Berry watched with awe as her tangle of thread turn into something that looked like it was produced by a machine.

Coco looked over at the mare as if she were making a decision. Finally, she said, "I know it's your first day, so it must be a little bit tough on you. Why don't you just handle working the counter while I keep making garments?" She smiled kindly and continued to fix the mess of fabric that the pink mare had created.

"Berry, why is your nose bruised and bleeding?"

The pink mare looked away from Coco with embarrassment. "It's complicated."

"Really? Because it's kind of easy for me to piece together," the mare said, not unkindly. "You got into an altercation with a customer, didn't you? I heard shouting and some insults being hurled regarding somepony's mother."

"It looked like they were trying to steal something, Coco!" the mare said, her eyes growing big as she pouted out her bottom lip. "I was just trying to stop them from taking the garments you worked so hard on."

Coco breathed out sharply. "Okay. Look, Berry, just go back to my apartment and take care of yourself, okay? Here's the key." She smiled and tossed it into the mare's hoof.

"Thank you, Miss Pommel," Berry smiled before trotting back to the apartment.

"It's Coco!" she shouted over the sound of traffic as Berry cheerily skipped home.

Berry hadn't been lying about the altercation. For the most part, at least. It had appeared that the mare at the stand was trying to steal something- Berry's dignity.

"What does fruit have anything to do with fashion?" she asked Berry, staring at her cutie mark.

"What does a key and a lock have to do with being a dick?" Berry had replied, glancing down at the customer's cutie mark in return.

"Hey, that was uncalled for."

Berry mimicked her voice in a deep and vapid tone. "Hey! That was uncaaAAaaalled for! Meh meh meh meh meh!"

To be fair, Berry thought to herself, I was kind of asking for it. She pressed a wet rag against her nose, staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. She winced at the sting it caused just as she heard the front door of the apartment open. Had she left it unlocked? Was somepony robbing the place? She supposed that the adrenaline from the altercation she just had was making her antsy, but she decided not to risk it. She grabbed a plunger and shot out of the bathroom.

"Who's there?" she screamed. Just as she did this, her vision was filled by a pair of green eyes. Then, everything went black.

"Oh, jeez," Berry heard as she regained consciousness on the living room couch. "I'm real sorry, Missus Punch. You really freaked me out back there, you know? You can't scare me like that."

Babs. Babs had knocked her out.

"You throw a good punch, kid," she said, getting up. Berry was a more than a little embarrassed- a filly had truly bested her. Babs had hit her in the exact spot that the mare from the altercation had, causing her bruise to double in size. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"On the streets of Manehatten," the young mare said, swelling her chest with pride and grinning. Suddenly, her smile faltered, and she shook her head as if to clear some sort of bad thought from it. "Hey, why are you home from work early, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be helping Missus Pommel?"

"I got in a fight," she said simply.

"Very cool," Babs responded. "You look like you lost."

"I didn't lose!" Berry said indignantly. "I just did the mature thing and walked away."

"So...you lost," the filly said simply, shrugging.

"Listen, kid," Berry said, "I have years of experience on you, and I'm not going to let you act like a little smart aleck around me when you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground."

"Hm. Interesting, considering that your stupid little story about your cutie mark doesn't fool me one bit," Babs replied casually, checking out her hoof. Berry felt her heart stop in her chest.

"What are you going on about?" Berry answered in the most incredulous tone she could.

"C'mon, Missus Punch," the filly replied, staring her in the eye. There was something very intimidating about the bright green color of the filly's irises. "Missus Pommel, bless her sweet heart, likes to give ponies the benefit of the doubt. See, I was raised on the streets of Manehatten, and I had to fend for myself. Us former homeless folk? We aren't so easily fooled."

Berry gulped as Babs got up and started pacing the living room. "Berry, I don't hate ya, despite what you might think," she said. "But I know that you're playing my roommates and I for fools. The only reason I haven't voiced my suspicions to Missus Pommel is because I think it would break her heart. Did you know that she can go on for hours about you and what a good person you are underneath your selfish image? And she barely even knows you!" Babs felt herself getting angrier and angrier but managed to keep it under control. "So here's the thing, Berry. You're going to make your money and then you're going to get the hell out of my house. And if you ever-" Babs got close to Berry's face- "EVER hurt Missus Pommel OR her business, I will make you wish you were never born. Do you understand, Missus Punch?"

Despite how intimidating the filly was, Berry could feel the intense familial love Babs felt for the closest thing she ever had to a parent. She suddenly felt the weird, strong wave of guilt she had felt when Coco first wished her goodnight. "Yeah, I understand," Berry said softly.

Babs seemed shocked at the mare's willingness to back down. "W-well...good!" Babs said, stomping into the communal bedroom. Berry watched her go before getting off of the couch and cleaning up the apartment. For once in her life, she was driven to kindness with no ulterior motive.

Berrying the Hatchet

After cleaning the apartment so it was spick and span, Berry gently buried her head under the couch cushions. Muffled screams struggled to escape from them. This situation was VERY frustrating. She thought about her original intent in coming to Manehatten- what was it again?

Oh, right. To have fun.

Which she was doing the opposite of.

How long had it been since she had alcohol, again?

She thought hard. Right. It was the night she decided she was going to leave in the first place. It definitely seemed like a Drunk Berry idea to go on a solo mare's night out to Manehatten using a cop as an escort. Now that she was sort of out of the woods, she was able to look back and realize that it had to be one of the dumbest and least thought out ideas she ever had. She couldn't remember how exactly she would have been inspired to do such a thing. She probably was listening to Rarity brag (the broad always DID think she was better than everypony else) or saw a poster advertising Manehatten or something. When she finished her train of thought, she realized that she had successfully cleaned the entire apartment. It was strange how immersed she could get into something- it was almost like a blackout.

She sat down carefully on the couch and admired the neatness of the place. It was a shithole, but it was a CLEAN shithole, at least. She soon heard the doorknob jangle and open. Coco Pommel walked inside.

"Wow," she said, smiling as she observed the place. "Babs did a great job cleaning up."

Berry frowned. "Babs' asleep. I cleaned up."

"Oh," Coco blushed. "Well, thank you."

Berry felt her throat tighten as Coco went to set her saddlebags on the kitchen table. What did Babs tell her, again? To make her money and leave as soon as possible? Suddenly, real, strong guilt washed completely over Berry for the first time since she was a filly. Her sobriety must have gotten rid of that numb regard she always had towards other people. She realized that she had truly and completely overstayed her welcome. When Coco went into the bedroom and fell asleep, Berry decided to swallow her pride and head home. It was the least she could do after being such a burden. As for the money to get there, she decided she would just have to beg on the street. She felt flashbacks to the small mare in the pink coat as she devised this plan- people in Manehatten didn't take so kindly to beggars, but Coco didn't deserve to deal with an employee like her anymore. She sighed in the darkness of the apartment. She realized that she would actually miss Coco- completely uncharacteristic, considering how little she cared for any other pony she manipulated. She tiptoed toward the door when she heard a voice from behind her in the dark.

"Where are you going?" said a familiar Bronx accent.

"I'm leaving," Berry said simply, turning around to face the filly.

"What?" Babs chuckled. "You're broke, you're stupid, and you're ugly. How the hell are you gonna get home, Missus Punch?"

Berry scowled. "What does me being ugly have to do with anything?"

"Somepony needed to tell you, Missus Punch."

"Stop calling me Mrs. Punch, it's Berry. How old are you, anyway, you little hotshot? I'm going home."

"How do you plan to get the money?"

Berry was silent for a minute, marinating in the stupidity of what she was about to say next. "I'm going to beg on the street."

She expected laughter from Babs but was instead greeted with eerie silence. "No you're not," she finally whispered. "I won't let you."

The fuchsia mare was bewildered. "Wh...you can't tell me what to do, you little scrote! Who do you think you are?"

"Trust me," Babs said. "It's not worth it, okay? Don't be a dipshit."

Berry saw genuine concern for her wellbeing in Babs' eyes for once. Suddenly, she put two and two together. Why else would a filly be paying rent and living with roommates instead of her parents? Babs had to have been homeless at some point.

"Okay," Berry said, not pushing the issue. She could only imagine what Babs would have gone through as a homeless filly in a city like this. "So how do you expect me to make some money, then?"

Babs sighed. "If you want to get home ASAP, you're going to have to ask Coco for some bits. You don't get your first paycheck until a month from now."

"Why don't you spot me the money?"

"Because I actually have rent to pay so I don't end up..." Babs trailed off. "Because I'm somehow more adult than YOU are, Berry. Grow up. Tomorrow, you're asking Coco for the money."

"But it will break her heart."

"Some things are more important than broken hearts," Babs said vaguely. She walked back into the bedroom, leaving Berry to contemplate what she would have to talk to Coco about tomorrow.

She tossed and turned that night fitfully. She dreamed about Coco's disappointed face. She thought of the guilt she would carry when she lost one of the only ponies who had enough patience to be a friend to her. All Berry did was manipulate, use, and lie, and it was coming back to haunt her.

Author's Note

i have an exam tomorrow SHIT