"Mint! Get your butt down here, now!" the authoritative mother pony shouted from the base of the stairs. A sheet of paper marked with a giant red 'F' between her teeth, and fire was in her eyes.
"I'm trying to get rea-" The younger sandy-brown pony started, emerging from her room, but was cut off when she noticed her failed test in the maw of her powder blue mother. She suddenly cried out "Hey, w-where did you find that?"
"I found it crammed into an empty cereal box in the garbage. I wonder, pray tell, how it got there?" Glitter-bell raised an eyebrow at her daughter.
"Maybe Rosewand threw it away last night? She didn't like arithmetic either!" Chocolate Mint answered back quickly, flicking her brunette tail ever so gently from one-side to the other, it's light green highlight was like a wave. She was trying to blame their next-door neighbor. "She probably saw it was a test by that old crone Sister-Gingersnap, and suffered a bout of PTSD from her time at that nightmare of a school!"
"Mint." Glitter sighed as she gently set the paper down on the worn table near the base of the stairs. "How many times are we going to have this conversation this semester? Just get down here, please. We need to talk." With that, she turned in the hallway and with two paces, was in their tiny kitchen.
Chocolate Mint felt her stomach hit the ground. She despised the academy her mother sent her to, but hated disappointing her mother even more. The young pony descended the stairs as she glanced around the narrow hallway. Two bedrooms right at the top of the stairs, one for her, and one for her mother. They shared a bathroom with a broken sink that never really did stop dripping. At the bottom, she glanced down at her algebra test on the near dilapidated end-table her mother refused to throw out. Mint knew that she could do better, but it's hard to concentrate when you are in your final year at Saint Quartz's Private School For Girls in Manehatten. A school of hard students, harder teachers, and the hardest punishments.
Before turning into the kitchen, she fluffed down the skirt on her school uniform in an attempt at a sign of maturity. Her flank was blank, but that was not uncommon in her position. Kids deep in the educational system of cities like Manehatten and Las Pegasus are subject to such a strict regiment of classes, it's likely they don't get their cutie mark until they are out. This was, of course, unless your talent was one of the general educations. This was an attempt at making the most well-rounded individual possible, or something like that. Mint always assumed it was a futile attempt to beat the uniqueness and creativity out of ponies, and try to convince them to be something boring, like an accountant.
Glitter-bell stood by their kitchen table, sipping at the cheap coffees that she made every morning. Trying to get the energy for another long day at the firm. She had a plate with a piece of toast and the butter out, which easily cramped the small table. "What am I going to do with you?" She sighed heavily, using her hoof to gently adjust her glasses.
"Let me drop out of school?" Mint questioned hopefully, knowing it was in vain. "We both know my talent won't be in math, or science, or gym."
"That's not the point, dear" Glitter set the coffee down, then looked at her daughter. Even though she was a full-grown adult-mare, Glitter-bell was the same size (maybe even slightly smaller) than her daughter. But her black-business suit and heavy rimmed glasses made her look the mature women she was. "Saint Quartz's will-"
"Make me an educated and well-respected member of society, qualified for many intro-level jobs on the market. I know." Mint finished for her mother. She glanced at a bouquet of flowers in the window-sill at the other side of the room. "But we both know what my talent is going to be in."
Glitter glanced over at the arrangement her daughter set up and smiled proudly. It was true, she had a great talent for flower arrangement, able to blend colors together beautifully. She turned back to her daughter, beaming for only a second. Then she tossed her baby blue mane back, and frowned. "Be that as it may, Missy. I spend a large chunk of my income sending you to that school, and I want you prepared for life. Things should get better soon. I might be promoted to head accountant soon!" Another proud smile betrayed her momentarily, and again, disappeared almost instantly. "but until then, we can't waste the things we have."
"I'm glad work is doing better." Her daughter said as almost a breathe of relief. Times were tough ever since her father had left. "But you can't understand what I am going through. School sucks hardcore."
"I know dear, I was young once too."
Mint took a step away from the table. She knew she didn't have a lot of time left to get ready. Walking out the room, she told her mother "You never had to go through school, you were a simple small-town pony. You earned your cutie mark the day you saw your first tax-return."
Glitter started to follow her daughter, her cutie mark of an old fashion calculator was hidden underneath her work skirt. "But it took me years to find a decent job. I had no connections and no formal education. I had to fight for everything I earned. I just want you to have a better start than I did."
"So instead of making my life hard when I'm an adult, you are going to make it hard when I am a kid? That's some cruel shit right there." Mint laughed bluntly at the top of the stairs, walking into her room. She did this as she avoided a small pile of dirty clothes right at the entrance.
"Don't make me wash out your mouth. Don't the sisters teach you better than to be a foul-mouthed pony?" The pony scolded her daughter, picking up a piece of dirty laundry and carrying it to the laundry basket 5-feet away.
"They try. The sisters are all insane control freaks, mom." Mint was sliding up a pair of school regulated stockings as she stood in front of her old wardrobe. She was getting annoyed by her mother touching her clothes "You don't even know how hard it is at that school."
"School cannot be that hard, dear. If you miss a deadline in school, you are scolded. But if you miss a deadline at work, and you can be fired." Glitter picked up one of Mint's dirty school skirts to throw into the hamper.
"It's not that simple. Don't belittle what I have to put up with." Mint started to raise her voice in frustration, as she put a small clip into her hair "You couldn't possibly put up with what I-" She suddenly stopped as she stared into her mirror. She saw her mother holding part of her uniform and suddenly had a clever idea. "You know what, I have a great idea. Let's make a bet."
"Another bet? You still owe me for the last two you lost." Her mom replied exasperatedly.
"I bet you couldn't last one day as a student at Saint Quarts."
"That's just ridiculous."
"Oh, why?"
The mother pony rolled her eyes as she started to explain. "That would be the easiest bet you've come at with me yet. Besides, how would we even set up that bet? I'm clearly an adult, and that's a school for foals. On top of that, it's a private school."
"You leave that to me, and I'm sure Ms. Rosewand next door could help. If you win the bet, I will finish the year without a single complaint."
"You are going to do that anyways. But fine, what do you want if you win?"
"If I win the bet, I get to drop out of that dam-" Catching herself from swearing again, Chocolate continued, "darn school the next day."
"Fine, if you can figure out a way to set this up, I’ll go along with your bet. I can take a vacation day from work. If this will finally get you to stop complaining about school."
"It's a deal then." The mother and daughter bumped front hooves. Each were smiling, knowing for a fact that they would win.
After Glitter-bell and Chocolate Mint arrived home, they had a quick dinner and left. They walked together to talk to their next-door neighbor Rosewand. After wrapping on the door with a hoof, they heard "Be with you in just a moment!" from inside. A few moments went by, then the door slipped open. "Well, now. Good evening to you both, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Greeted Rosewand, the tan colored unicorn. She was a tall mare, larger than both Mint and Bell. Even though she was only a couple years Glitter's senior. Her hair was also pinned up, making it seem as if she now towered over the pair.
"Hey Rosie!" Mint greeted with a cheery smile. The girl spent the entire day scheming, and was excited to get started. "May we come in? We needed your help with something."
"Oh yes, of course, please make yourselves at home." She backed up and invited the pair in. Unlike Glitter-bell, Rosewand was relatively well off for a city pony. Her home was probably twice the size of Glitter's, with decent antique furnishings. There was also not a single speck of dust or dirt in the entire home. Being a unicorn had it's advantages when cleaning. It didn't help that the little work Rosewand did need to do could be done at home over the phone. The Wand led the pair into her living room, a warmly lit room with a fireplace and a wall of books. She offered them some tea, which they gladly accepted as they discussed the bet.
"So, my mother will be registered as a student Saint Quartz's, preferably tomorrow. To win the bet, she simply has to stay in character for an entire day." Mint said, laying out the bet, but added a small addendum "but if she gets into trouble with the headmistress, she has to go for an additional day."
"Why the additional time?" Rosewand asked, curious about this stipulation.
"My daughter is under the impression that the school is run by tyrants who punish indiscriminately. I'm going to prove her wrong."
"I take it you two wanted me to write up an official contract for this wager?" Wand asked, curious to her part of the scheme.
"If you wouldn't mind. I also figured you could be the one who registers her into the school? Just forge a document under a fake name, as it will only be temporary" Mint nodded with a smile. "It's always good to be friends with a lawyer pony."
"Indeed." Rosewand took a small sip of her tea, lost in thought momentarily. "I'll be glad to help. If you two wish to wait down here, I’ll go prepare it upstairs." With that, she left the two to do what she was best at.
After about half of an hour, Rosewand walked back into the living room, the newly-typed contract floating next to her head. Mint was busy playing with her phone, while Glitter was casually flipping through one of Rose's many law books. "Here it is! Fresh off the type-writer." She placed a 23-page document on the coffee table between the three of them.
"Wow, that was quick, and so much text in here." Chocolate admired, lifting up a few pages to flip through the expansive legal document.
"It's mostly just legal mumbo-jumbo anyways, right Rose?" Glitter asked with a smile, glancing down at the daunting text herself.
"Oh yes, just the usual. Clauses and what-not. If you both don't mind, I did add a little myself. But nothing too major. I figured, for the sake of playing the role, the day you two settle this little bet, you'll both live here with me. That way I can help you prepare the bet, and walk you to school to get registered. I have two beds upstairs in a spare bedroom you two can sleep in."
"Sounds reasonable to me," Bell nodded, glancing over at her daughter and smiling. This was going to be a piece of cake. The three of them all signed the contract, which Rose then notarized under Celestia's seal.
"Now, you two better be off to bed, it's already pretty late, and you two have an early morning tomorrow. Rosewood led the girls upstairs to her spare bedroom, so they could get some rest before Glitter's first day of school.
