It was a sunny, cloudless day as usual here on the spice farm, though nary a pony was seen outside in the grass or various fields that were used to harvest herbs or spices. Instead, there was activity going on inside of the dark blue, 2 floored house made of wood. A brown mare was in a small room sitting at a small rectangular wooden table scuffling through various letters and papers. Sitting across from her was her slightly younger brother. He looked bored beyond reason as he helped her pile and shuffle old and new letters. "Do I have to sit here and help you sort these letters, Cinnamon?" He complained.
She nodded without hesitation and slid a small pile of old papers to the side. "Yes, Bolt, you do. Remember, father said you have to help me or else." She warned.
Bolt Byte gave a gruff sigh and grabbed a pile of letters to discard. He didnt notice that one had fallen to the ground as he joined his and Cinnamons piles. The moment he put it down, he looked to his half of the table and scratched his black mane. "Okay I'm done. I think I'll just go and work on that... Thing..." He said.
Before Cinnamon could so much as start to give him an irritated stare, Bolt Byte was gone out the door. Cinnamon growled to herself. "He sure does like to do what he wants." She sighed. "At least he got his work done for once instead of putting it off or leaving me to clean up after him."
She continued organizing the leftover letters when one of the envelopes fell off of the table. When she went down to pick it up, she saw the other dropped by Bolt. She rolled her eyes annoyingly. "Of course I probably expected too much of him... My brother can be so lazy." She said to herself.
She picked up her envelope and placed it on the table, then walked over to the one dropped by Bolt. It seemed to be a plain envelope as far as Cinnamon could tell, except it had a small green stamp holding the envelope together. She flipped it over. "To... Mrs. Cinnamon.... Right. This isnt an old letter. Why would Bolt try to discard it?" She said.
She placed it on the table and opened the letter. "Let's see... Dear Mrs. Cinnamon..." She started. "I, Mrs. Gramare, the principal of Manehattan Middle School, request your presence... One of our teachers went on a leave.... Uh huh.... Oh!" She exclaimed happily.
She excitedly jumped up and down twice on the spot with the letter in her hoof. "Yes yes yes!" She shouted. "Mother, father!"
Her parents frantically ran into the room after a minute and stopped just short of where Cinnamon stood. "What is it?" Her father asked.
Cinnamon held out the letter to her fathers face with a glimmer of undiluted happiness in her grey eyes. "I've been asked to teach at Manehattan middle school. Its to fill in the absence of one of their teachers!" She said.
Her two parents read over the letter and looked to eachother. Cinnamon proudly pranced over to the door that led outside and looked back to them. "So? What do you think? I was just about to go tell Bolt the good news." She said, looking outside at the last word. 'And scold him for almost throwing away my letter.' She thought.
"Go tell your brother. We will let you know what we think when you come back inside." Her mother said. "I think this is a family discussion!"
Cinnamon nodded and went outside. She was greeted by the conflicting warmth of the sun and cool breeze that was the wind. She stood at the stone entrance of the home for a second before trotting down the steps and taking a swift, immediate left. She rounded the house and caught a glimpse of Bolts crudely made wooden shed. Its walls were well constructed of oak wood, but the roof seemed as though it was about to collapse at any moment. Cinnamon used to be afraid of even approaching the shed when Bolt Byte first created his little home, but now she could approach it with no fear of it toppling down. 'Bolt Byte may be lazy, but he can sure do a good job with constructing things he wants.' Cinnamon thought to herself.
She walked up to the small doors and knocked three times. "Bolt are you in there?" She shouted.
"Yeah... Yeah come on in. Doors unlocked." Bolt Byte responded loudly.
Cinnamon opened the doors and poked her head inside. The shed was mostly empty except for a small blue couch and little arcade set up in the wall directly across from the entrance. She saw Bolt casually lying about on the couch. The brown stallion looked at his sister with lazy eyes. "What's up sis?" He asked.
Cinnamon walked inside and stood in the middle of the shed, her left ear twitching. "I should have known you were lazing about... Anyways, I'm mad at you!" She said and stomped her hoof on the ground.
Bolt sat up quickly, mostly in reaction to the sound. "Wha? Why? I did my work and everything." He said.
Cinnamon rolled her eyes and pointed to the door. "Back inside." She commanded.
"Hey I don't have to go anywhere sis. I gotta rest after all that work." He replied.
Cinnamon growed warningly at her brother and pointed outside again. "Don't make me drag you, Bolt, because I will if I have to." She said.
Bolt Byte sighed loudly and jumped off of the couch. He walked alongside his sister as they made their way back inside. "I hope you have a good reason for dragging me out of my shed. A stallions gotta get his rest and relaxation you know." He stated matter-of-factly.
"You only discarded old letters. That would hardly be called work. You didn't even do a good job at that." She remarked back.
Bolt Byte gasped and gave her a wounded look as they reached the door leading back inside. "I am offended! My side of the table was perfectly clean. It took an entire 20 minutes to get that done."
Cinnamon shook her head in response at what he said and went in. Bolt Byte followed suit. Inside, Bolt Bytes and Cinnamons parents were sitting at the table. They had the letter in the middle as the two took their seats. Bolt Byte looked around awkwardly. "So... What's up guys?" He asked.
Cinnamon grabbed the letter and slid it over to Bolt Byte. "This letter was among the ones you attempted to throw out."
Boly Byte looked at the letter. "So? It looks like some normal letter to me." He said.
"Just read it already. Its no old letter. In fact, it was unopened when I found it on the floor." Cinnamon said.
While Bolt Byte read over the letter, Cinnamon looked over to her parents. They seemed happy enough and gave her an encouraging smile. "Ah! No way." Bolt Byte said, drawing the ponies attention.
Bolt Byte slid the letter a few inches away as he spoke. "I almost threw that away? Its some kind of... Invitation, right? You get to go teach in Manehattan? Am I right about that?"
"Yeah. I wanted you to know how upset I am with you. If I hadn't dropped an old letter myself, I would never have seen yours and would not get to go to Manehattan." Cinnamon said.
"Which is why your mother and i have decided." The father started. "That you and Cinnamon will both go to Manehattan together, Bolt Byte."
Bolt Byte and Cinnamon both looked at eachother for a second before their fathers words sunk in.
Immediately, the siblings looked to their father. "Wait, what!?" Bolt and Cinnamon said in unison.
"Father, why should Bolt Byte come? I'll be teaching. I won't have time to take care of him." Cinnamon protested.
Bolt Byte collapsed onto the table in a slightly dramatic fashion. "Daaaad why? I like it here." He complained.
Bolt Bytes father crossed his arms and looked Bolt Byte in the eyes. "Considering it was your laziness that almost cost Cinnamon her job, I think its a reasonable punishment." He said.
"Not to mention you need to get out there and make some friends, Bolt." His mother chimed in.
"Hey I have friends like... Uh..." Bolt Byte thought aloud.
His father raised his eyebrow expectantly. After a minute of silence, his father grunted. "That what I thought. My word is final. Pack up and tomorrow you two leave for Manehattan." He said.
Cinnamon hopped to her hooves and looked at her parents proudly. "I'll get going then! Thanks mother, father." She said.
As she passed Bolt Byte on her way out, the two swapped annoyed stares. The moment Cinnamon left the room and her hooves were heard going upstairs, Bolt Byte sighed and collapsed onto the table again. "Packing is so much work..." He said.
Bolt Bytes mother walked up to him and smiled. "Let me help you dear. Terra Byte, you go help Cinnamon." She said to the stallions father.
"Right. Bolt Byte, listen to Nutmeg Clove, and don't be lazy. Whatever you pack, you take, alright?" Terra Byte said.
"Alright, alright, I'm on it dad." Bolt Byte sighed.
Terra Byte quickly walked upstairs, while Bolt Byte and Nutmeg Clove walked downstairs to the basement. 'Man I hope mother won't be angry with how my room looks.' He thought and scrunched his face a little.
When the two got downstairs, Nutmeg Clove nudged the door open and was almost instantly overwhelmed by what she saw. Piles of wood was lazily thrown around, most seeming to be unfinished shelves or wheels for a carriage. What little clothing he had was strewn across his bed, his desk and even on a window in the corner on the wall farthest on the left. The pale green carpet in the middle of his room was completely faded. Nutmeg Clove blinked a couple of times, then looked back at Bolt Byte, who gave her a sheepish grin. 'Uh oh. She doesn't look too happy' He thought.
His mother simply stepped back and pointed inside his room. "Well? You should start packing dear. It, uh, may take a while to finish. I'll be overlooking you to make sure you pack correctly." She said with a nod.
"Er... Right." Bolt Byte said.
He slowly walked in, glancing at his mother every couple of steps. He was expecting her to lash out and scold him for his dirty room, but she never did. Bolt Byte grabbed a suitcase hidden under his red bed and sighed. 'Never thought I would be using this again.' He thought.
As midday turned to the evening, Bolt finally packed a suitcase consisting of a dark purple vest, a grass green cape, some tools in which to carve and create wooden items with, and a few games for the arcades he planned to visit. He looked at his mother, who patiently stood at the door the entire time. "I'm done. I, uh, guess I'm ready to go now." He said.
His mother nodded at him. "Good. Let's go upstairs. Cinnamon should be long done by now seeing as shes typically more organized. Come along, dear." She said.
"Right. I still can't believe I have to go with Cinnamon." Bolt complained.
Nutmeg Clove looked back at her son as the two walked up the stairs. "Well your father gave two very good reasons. You cannot live your life alone inside that shed of yours. You need friends, or at least a sense of community within a group. This will also be a great time for you and your sister to get to spend quality time together." She said.
Bolt Byte did not respond until the two reached the top of the stairs and Nutmeg Clove closed the door. He looked to her. "Sigh... I enjoy it in my shed though. I have everything I need in there." Bolt Byte said lazily.
His mother gave him an unimpressed stare that lasted a good 3 seconds. "You're going to Manehattan with your sister. Thats final. No more complaints or you will be doing all of the chores until you leave tomorrow." She warned.
Bolt Bytes eyes widened and he did not hesitate in bringing his hooves to his mouth and nodded at his mother. She gave him a small smile and the two walked into the living room. They stayed at the entrance as Bolt Byte saw Terra Byte patting Cinnamons dark brown mane. They seemed to be finishing a conversation. "Remember, teach those ponies well and look after Bolt Byte. Oh and don't forget to come by your mother and me once in a while, eh?" He said happily.
Cinnamon nodded vigorously. "Don't worry father, I'll make sure everything goes as planned." She said.
"Good." Terra Byte said.
Bolt Byte and Nutmeg Clove walked up to them and sat down, all excited but Bolt Byte, who was quiet due to fears of getting all of the chores if he complained...
