Fiery Heart groaned and hit her head on her desk. “Why does math have to be so hard?” she groaned.
She noticed Ms. Conch Shell looking her way. She quickly picked up her pencil and turned back to her work.
65 x 38. Okay, you can do this, Fiery. 8 x 5 = 40, carry the four…
Ms. Shell started to walk over.
8 x 6, 48, plus 4…
She noticed Ms. Shell was almost to her desk.
52! 520. Okay, 3 x 5 = 15, 3 x 6 = 18, 18 plus one equals 19, 190 + 52, 242!
“Fiery!” Fiery Heart sighed. Ms. Shell had reached her desk.
“Yes, Ms. Shell?” she asked. Ms. Shell noticed Fiery’s answer.
“242? Fiery, the answer is not 242! Try again!” She shook her head and turned to leave, but then noticed something else. “You’re only on problem one?”
“Well, yeah…” Fiery was sweating now.
Ms. Shell sighed. “Fiery, is everything okay?”
“Yeah…”
“What’s the matter, Fiery? You may not be my best student, but it’s easy to tell you can’t concentrate.”
“I… I…”
“You’re moving?” A pink Pegasus filly looked at her friend as if she’d been slapped. “But why? Don’t you like it here? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
Fiery Heart looked down. “After the… the accident, it was the last straw. Mom wanted to move somewhere peaceful, like Ponyville. She used to live there, after all.”
Whisper Wind sighed. “This is terrible! What will we do without you! Either you stay here, or I’m coming with you!”
Fiery forced a smile. “That’s what I said!”
“Personally, I think it’s great! I hope you have fun,” a green and brown Pegasus said softly.
“Aww thanks, Buttercup. You always know how to cheer me up,” Fiery said to her.
Buttercup Blossom smiled back at her friend. “I’m glad you’re feeling better about the move, especially since I-”
Whisper shook her head wildly. “No! Not you too! You can’t leave! With both of my friends leaving, I’d- I’d…”
Buttercup shook her head and put a hoof around her friend. “That’s not what I was going to say, Whisper. I was going to say, ‘especially because I’d miss you.’”
Whisper Wind looked relieved, but Fiery shook her head.
“You’re missing something, Whisp.” She turned to Buttercup. “I’d?”
“Yes, I’d. See Fiery, you’re smarter than you think you are. I… am leaving,” she muttered.
“What?” Whisper asked, clearly not hearing the ending.
“I… am.”
“What?”
“She’s leaving!” Fiery cut in, then quickly turned away. She knew what was going to happen, and she couldn’t stand to see her friend cry. “I’m sorry.”
With that, the friends parted.
“Mom! Mom?” Fiery ran into her house.
Rainbow Dash stepped out. “Fiery? Why aren’t you in school, kid?”
Fiery ducked her head. “They… they let us out early!”
Rainbow shook her head. “Were you skipping school?”
“No… yes,” Fiery admitted. “Oh, I don’t want to leave, Mom! Can’t we stay in Cloudsdale? With our friends? With our family?”
Rainbow sighed. “Kid, look. You’re skipping school, which proves you’re unhappy. And with the accident…”
Fiery shook her head wildly. “I don’t care about a stupid accident! Look! I’m getting better!” She flapped her wings. No such luck.
“We need to get away from here,” Rainbow continued, as if her star daughter hadn’t just failed to fly. “And we both know the ‘accident’ wasn’t actually an accident. If it were up to me, I’d-”
“But nobody believes me!” Fiery cried. “Nopony except… except you.”
“And we should get a fresh start,” Rainbow finished. “And besides, Fluttershy and Buttercup Blossom are coming too, you know.”
“I know- Buttercup told me,” Fiery told her mother. “But poor Whisper!”
Rainbow sighed. “I haven’t broken the news to Scootaloo, yet either,” she told her daughter. “I’m worried about those two, just like you are. But, we have to get away from here, and I won’t let anypony stop me!”
“Poor Whisper Wind,” Fiery whispered. “If only she knew how much I want to stay here.”
Whisper Wind took a different approach on getting home. She quietly flapped her wings, and flew through her window into her room.
She had done this before, specifically when it had been a particularly hard day at school. Each morning, she locked her door, to make it easier to get in without being noticed.
But she’d either forgotten this morning, or else someone had come through the bathroom.
Because her room was spotless.
The normally clothes-covered floor had a hamper in the middle of it, and clothes inside of that. Her pencils were in the drawer, along with her paper. Her rollerblades and scooter were in the closet, her coat neatly hung up above them.
Whisper Wind groaned. Not only had her mom found a way into her room, she’s let somepony else into it. The spotless room could only mean one thing.
Aunt Apple Bloom was here.
“Not now! Not today!” Whisper whispered urgently. “Not with…” She trailed off. This day was already horrible enough. Now she was going to be caught skipping school?!
Just then, a yellow Earth Pony walked through the door, holding a broom and dustpan in her hooves. She quickly noticed Whisper, and dropped them.
“Whispa?” she asked incredulously. “What are ya doin’ skippin’ school?”
Whisper immediately drew back, as if that would help hide her from Apple Bloom. No such luck, of course.
“I… I…”
Then Scootaloo walked in, only to find her daughter standing in front of her best friend.
“Whisper?” she asked sternly. “Why aren’t you at school? I could have sworn that two hour early dismissal wasn’t until Monday…”
Apple Bloom nodded. “It’s not, Scoots,” she said. “I know because Apple Core has off then, too.”
Scootaloo looked at her daughter. It was easy to tell she was trying to look stern, but she couldn’t keep the fact that she was impressed with her daughter out of her expression. “You shouldn’t skip school, Whisp. You must have done it more than once, because Ms. Shell mentioned you not being in class every day. How did you do it, and how often did you do it?”
Whisper shifted weight uneasily. “I’ve done it… some,” she said, evading the second question.
“And how-” Scoots asked eagerly, only for AB to glare at her.
“Shouldn’t she be punished?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh, right.” Scootaloo turned back to Whisper Wind. “No playing with your friends for a week.”
That made Whisper start to cry. Scootaloo looked at her friend.
“Was that too harsh?”
Apple Bloom looked away. “Umm… err…”
“My friends, they’re, they’re…” Whisper sniffled.
“They’re moving. Both of them. Back to Ponyville,” Apple Bloom finished.
At that, Scootaloo wrapped her daughter in a big hug, and the two cried together.
Airy Art thrust down her book in frustration.
“I can’t do it,” she muttered. “I can’t read.”
She instead watched as the colts tried to play a trick on their substitute teacher. She felt a tap on her back. She turned to see Jewel Throne tapping her on her back. She rolled her eyes. Their parents might be really good friends, but that didn’t mean she had to like Jewel. Jewel was everything her mother was not- stuck up, snobby, spoiled, and grabby.
Airy noticed Jewel was holding a note. She carefully pried it from her hoof.
R U having truble? it read. Airy smiled. Her best friend, Song Sweet, knew how to cheer her up. Maybe she’d get some reading done after all!
She then noticed something that made her frown. Right on top of the note, I am not your personal mail carrier! could be read. No doubt it was from Jewel. Airy looked over at Song. She tilted her head towards Jewel and rolled her eyes. Song got it, and looked at her friend sympathetically.
But then the substitute walked over. She noticed Jewel raising her hoof, and inwardly groaned. Tattle tail, she thought.
“Yes?” the teacher asked.
“My name is Jewel,” Jewel Throne told her sweetly. Then she looked venomously at Airy. “She’s passing notes.”
Airy Art’s jaw dropped open in anger. She hadn’t sent a note! She hadn’t written a thing! Airy glowered. Her mother wouldn’t believe her- she’d just think it was another excuse for her daughter’s reading troubles! And she’d think it was also an excuse to get her enemy in trouble. But Jewel would be the one to get in trouble if she tattled on her cousin, so better to get Airy in trouble, right? As much as Airy hated to admit it, that was smart.
The teacher looked at Airy sternly. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
“I… I… I didn’t…” Song Sweet looked at her sympathetically, and stood up.
“It was actually me,” she said. “I passed it.”
The substitute looked at Song sternly. “I am very disappointed in you…”
“Song,” Song Sweet cut in.
“Song,” she finished. She then took the note. “Are you having trouble,” she read. Airy covered her ears at everyone started laughing at her. Her secret was out. She couldn’t read. “Song, the grammar on this is terrible!” the substitute cried. “Your punishment will be to rewrite this note fifty times during recess,” she told her.
Then she turned to Jewel Throne. “And you,” she said. “Please do not lie about who passed notes.”
The class erupted in laughter. That almost made Airy feel better. Almost.
Song escaped the building as soon as possible. The first thing she noticed were all the ponies around Airy Art. Song sighed. Maybe she should have let Airy take the blame. And Airy seemed to be thinking the same thing. She was crying when Song Sweet arrived.
“What are you doing here?” she asked through her tears. “Come to tease me too?”
The ponies all backed up at this, Jewel Throne dropping a book. Song guessed her cousin was trying to get Airy to read it.
“No, of course I’m not here to tease you!” Song said softly. “I’m here to apologize. I should have never-”
“How… how could you?!” Airy asked. “Now everypony knows my… my not-so-secret-anymore.”
“Oh, Airy!” Song cried. “I didn’t mean to! And besides, don’t you think I’ve been punished enough already? My horn aches from all that magic! I mean, I’m only a kid!”
Airy Art smiled a bit. “Ouch. I’m glad I didn’t get to do that.”
“You should be!” The other ponies looked at each other, not sure what to do.
“Go! Shoo, shoo!” Song told them. “You should be ashamed of yourselves! Go on, now!” They scurried off, and Song Sweet picked up the book they were trying to get her to read.
“A dictionary?” she cried in disbelief. Then she smiled. “You don’t need a dictionary- you have me!”
“And I’m glad I do,” Airy told her friend.
“And you’ve got my mom, and your mom, and-”
Airy flinched. “How am I going to tell her I can’t read?” she asked. “I mean, she already knows about me having trouble reading, but with her being such an… an…”
“An egghead?” Song suggested.
“An egghead?” Airy giggled. “What would that make me? A chicken?” Her frown returned.
“Oh, Airy,” Song cried. “It doesn’t matter if you can read or not! Your mom loves you because you’re you!”
Airy Art smiled again. “Oh, Song. Thanks for trying to cheer me up,” she said.
“Airy, don’t worry! Relax!” She started a song, staying true to her name, and her mother, of course:
“Don’t worry, hop on up, don’t let that smile leave your face!
Don’t worry, we love you no matter what…
Don’t worry, I’m here for you, no matter the case,
Don’t worry, your friend is here!”
Airy chimed in. “I worry, I’m sorry, it’s horrid of me,
I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be scared…
I worry, no matter what the case may be,
I do, even though I know you’re there!”
“Don’t worry, even if the end is here,
Don’t worry, everypony knows how you feel!
Don’t worry, even if the end is near,
If the end is here… then so am I!”
“I worry, my friend, my reading’s not up to date,
I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be mad…
I worry, could you stay up late,
And help my reading become grand!”
“Don’t worry, hop on up, don’t let that smile leave your face,
Don’t worry, we love you no matter what…
Don’t worry, I’m here for you, no matter the case,
Don’t worry, your friend is here!
Don’t worry, your friend. Is. HE-”
The song was cut short, with some clapping. “Bravo, bravo, you made a stupid little song,” Jewel Throne said. “Our mothers want us.” And with that, she turned away, humming their song, leaving them no choice but to follow her, and wonder what was going on.
Candy Apple was bucking apples on her parents’ farm.
“Whay does this have to be so hard?” she groaned.
Another filly walked over and sat down on an upside-down basket.
“Twilight put the walking-on-clouds spell on Mom again, so she went up to see Aunt Scootaloo. She brought me here to stay overnight.” Apple Smash smiled at her cousin.
Candy grunted. “I'm a bit busy at the moment. I don't have time to talk.”
Smash looked at her cousin sympathetically. “You want help?”
“No thanks, I’ve go it.” Candy shivered, remembering last time Smash helped. True to her name, she, well, she smashed. A whole bunch of apples.
“You sure? You seem tired. If you’d like, cuz, I’ll take it from here!” Smash said. She didn’t realize the mess she made last time. A giant mess, a broken barn, and 3 days behind schedule! During Zap Apple harvest!
“Yeah, I can do it.”
AS looked at her cousin. “Are you- oh wait, it’s because of last time, isn’t it?” Candy laughed. Smash was finally catching on.
“Well, yeah,” she admitted. “It may be ‘cuz of that.”
The two fillies laughed for a couple minutes.
“Hi there!” they heard. Smash shrieked as Peachy Pie’s head popped up in front of her, followed by the rest of her body. “Watcha doing?”
“Bucking,” Candy Apple grunted. “My mom wanted me to work on the farm, while she went to go see Aunt Twilight and Aunt Rarity, ‘cuz they’ve got some big news or somethin’.”
“Big news? That sounds fun!” Peachy Pie said. “I’d like some big news!”
Apple Smash laughed. “I wonder what it is,” she said.
“Something fun, I bet!” Peachy said happily. “Because when fun is big, that makes it funner! But then again, fun things come in small packages!”
“You mean, big things come in small packages,” Candy Apple corrected.
“Whatever!” Peachy cried. “Big things are fun things, so that means it doesn’t matter which you say! After all, big and fun things come in small-”
Smash put a hoof over her friend’s mouth. “I think we get it.”
“That means you’re super-duper-muper smart!” Peachy said. “’Cause I don’t get it. I mean, what is ‘it’, anyway?”
Candy looked at Smash and rolled her eyes. “She means she gets what you were sayin’.”
“Oh, that makes sense!” Peachy said. “Hey, you’re invited to a big-news-is-awesome-after-all-big-things-are-fun-and-big-things-come-in-small-packages party! Won’t that be fun?”
“I’d love to come, Peachy,” Candy said. “But I’ve got to finish buckin’.”
“Then we should have a help-Candy-finish-bucking party!” she cried.
“I’d love to, Peachy, but remember what happened last time?” Candy asked. She shivered. What is it with her friends ruining zap apple season?
“Aww, but it would be different this time, Candy! PLEASE?” Peachy asked.
“Mom would kill me,” she muttered. “Sorry, Peach, but no can do.”
“Aww, Candy…” she moaned. Then she perked up. “Candy’s a cool name, don’tcha think? I’d love to be called Candy, Candy!”
Candy rolled her eyes again. “We’ve been over this, Peachy…”
“I mean, who doesn’t love Candy? And chocolate. Who doesn’t love chocolate? I looove chocolate! And peppermint. And ice cream! Ooh, ooh! How about ice cream? Don’t you love ice cream? I sure do! Mmm…”
“I get it, Peachy. And besides, don’t you like peaches?” Candy asked as patiently as she could.
“Of course! Duh!”
“Then aren’t you happy with your name?”
“I like my name, but I like yours better, Candy Apple!” Peachy cried.
“Go take Apple Smash to your party, Peachy,” Candy told her friend.
“But the party’s not on until we know the big news! Duh!” Peachy cried.
Just then, Applejack returned.
“Time for the party!” Peachy cried.
