Kix an Mint; Uncertain Future

~~~~~Mint~~~~~

  “Do Ah have ta be with ya while yer working? Why can' Ah stay in mah room at the least?” Ah ask once pa leaves our sight. Fire is standin there in the doorway with a look clearly sayin why as she waits fer me ta come out. “Do ya not trust me or somethin?”

  “Come on Mint, we got work to do. As for why you can’t stay in here is that we can’t do our job while wondering what you’re up to. Also being with us means you have the least likely chance to get into more trouble.” She answers in a huffy voice while steppin inta the room and nudges me out.

  “Besides, if something were to happen to you we’d have an earful from Kix. It happened once to us, we don’t want another flank chewing like that again.” Ace says as he rounds the corner ta check on me. With another nudge Ah’m lined up behind him and the two march me towards the stored equipment.

  As they begin ta pull out the instruments Ace looks at me as Ah'm sittin jus inside their room. “You're good there Mint, do NOT move from that spot.” A chuckle from the two follows mah grumble o’ frustration as Ah decide ta lay down.

  “Wake up Mint, it’s almost lunch time.” The voice, which Ah assume is Ace's but not completely sure, urges as Ah'm rocked fer some reason. Grumbling at the motion Ah yawn an’ readjust ta get comfortable again.

  Reluctantly Ah wake up after a couple minutes o' relentless urgin. After some teasin about mah bedhead an staggerin we finally head out. The rest o’ the day goes by slowly as the twins finish workin. Once pa an’ the others get back they immediately spread the word about their trial gig in two days. ‘Ah hope Ah'll get the chance ta perform with the band atleast once like back in Detrot.’

  The next day starts off early and with the normal routine o' exercises followed by breakfast. “Fer mosta the day Mint ya'll be be watched by Ace an Fire again. But it won' be fer too long, hour ta hour an a half. Afterwards Ah'll take ya shopping fer yer school supplies.”

  “Ok pa. Jus’ curious, Ah know ya said no music but..... Could Ah instead stay an watch ya practice please?”

  “Nope, yer still on punishment. If Ah were ta show ya leniency even once it won' make the rest o’ yer sentence worthwhile. So yer stuck with them again.”

  ‘Atleast Ah tried an’ it won’ be like yesterday thankfully.’ Grumpily Ah follow the shiny duo after breakfast as they start gettin the instruments setup, the amps hooked up an’ the PA. system properly placed and plugged. ‘Can’ wait ta get off o’ this punishment. Ah already miss helpin out with setup an’ equipment checks.’ While the pair busy themselves fer the practice once again Ah find mahself layin down in an out o’ the way spot with a frustrated snort.

  The setup an’ sound test takes a little longer than it normally does. The biggest problem is gettin the lead guitar an’ drums soundin right, specially since the lead guitar also is actin as the bass. The whole thing ends up takin about twenty ta thirty minutes, jus in time ta knock me loose from  sleep’s teasin embrace. With a string o' mumbled arguments Ah follow as the Emerald twins head off ta where the spare equipment an' supplies are stored.

  “Ok kiddo, it’s time for lunch, lets get going.” Ace announces about an hour later while givin me a nudge ta get goin. With a sigh Ah fall inta step between them as usual, this time the twins are on either side o’ me. “Your dad and the others are going to meet up with us once they're finished.”

  “Can we go ta that one place we passed yesterday please? It looked like a good spot fer lunch.”

  Fire jus’ gives a giggle an' looks at me. “What, Sugarcube Corner? Sorry Mint but you don't deserve to go there right now.” She shakes her head while watchin as An go back ta bein grumpy.

  “Hey is this..... Oh Mint, I’ve been looking for you or Kix. H.....” A familiar yet strange voice is interrupted as the crystal twins turn an’ face the strange pony.

  “Who are you and why are you looking for Mint or Kix?” Ace an’ Fire challenge at the same time. Their body posture a little aggressive while puutin themselves between me an the stranger.

  “I’m.....” It finally clicks in mah mind who’s voice it is. Slowly Ah begin ta turn.

  ‘If Ah’m right why is.....’ Mah thoughts go still as Ah face the pony. The last pony in the world Ah expected ta be seein at this point in time.

~~~~~Kix~~~~~

  “Alright guys, ya know this is basically a trial run fer tomorrow, so le’ts keep this practice short an  simple. We’ll run through two songs apiece an’ two duet songs. Afterwards we'll set up a rotation.” With the others agreein we start off with a few warm up tunes an vocals.

  “So are we gonna practice some of our own stuff or continue to be a cover band?” Onyx asks while getin inta position an’ makes minor adjustments ta his microphone stand.

  “We'll be working on both Onyx, you know that. I know you have a new song written you want to perform but our original songs aren’t yet well known enough.” Sweet grumbles as she runs the bow across the strings a few times before continuin. “You’ve been a part of this band since it started. You should know better by now.”

  “Ok guys enough bickerin, lets get down ta business.” A chuckle escapes mah throat as Ah finish adjustin mah headset microphone then put mah hat on. Once we’re ready Ah nod an Snares begins the count.

  We spend the next five minutes warming up an gettin inta sync with each other. As usual the five minute warmup is extended by ten minutes o' readjustments, comments an general chatter. “Ok Onyx ya started us off last time correct? So how bout we start off with a duet with ya an’ Sweet.”

  The pair starts off the real time practice. Despite a few expected bumps it goes really well an the hour passes quickly. During the practice we work on somethin we rarely try, an that's switchin songs an’ singers on the fly. Gettin the timin right is the absolute hardest part o’ the practice an’ takes alot o’ time ta get it right. The second ta last song is one o’ Sweet’s an’ as we get inta the final chords o' the song the hard transition practice pays off.

  As we begin ta play the final few chords o' her song instead o’ playin it out we immediately switch ta the last song we’re gonna practice. A smile graces all our lips as we finish. Despite the sweat an’ huffin Ah can tell we're all in good spirits.

  “That was a really good practice guys, still need ta work on gettin our transition smoother but it still sounded good.” We begin ta get our stuff packed up with jokes flyin ta keep up our high spirits. ‘If we don’ impress tomorrow Ah'll have ta find somethin else. Ah’m not losin Mint no matter what.’ “Ok guys, now what songs do we wanna perform fer tomorrow?”

  We quickly come up with the line up fer tomorrow along with the songs we plan on performin’. Along with the six cover songs we added two o' our own songs. One fer myself an' Onyx, the other is fer Sweet. As soon as eveythin' is placed back inta their proper cases we lock up an’ head out ta collect Mint an’ her babysitters.

  “OK guys, lets go get some lunch. I'm starving.” With Berry’s announcement we head on out, the jokes an’ laughs flyin at full speed as we exit.

  As Ah round the corner o’ the buildin’ a familiar voice calls out, Mint an’ the twins have their backs ta me. “Kix? Oh thank Celestia. How you been?” A familiar mare asks. Ah knew the mare was gonna be showin’ up some time soon but didn’ expect her today. Her familiarity with me causes the others, includin’ the twins, ta stare at me in confusion.

  “Who is she Kix? A groupie that decided to follow us?” Sweet asks defensively as she recovers first an’ begins ta circle the newcomer. “Hmph, I guess stranger things have happened. Never expected such a high class mare to be into our type of music.”

  “Knock it off Sweet, Ah knew her since before Ah started gettin inta music. Everypony, this is Amethyst Rain, she.....”

~~~~~Mint~~~~~

  Ah step in front o' pa and finish his sentence. “She's mah mother, guys.” With a smile Ah turn an wrap mah arms around her neck. “How ya been ma? What brings ya here so suddenly?”  Before she can answer Sweet pushes herself in front o’ ma with their muzzles scrunched. Her eyes are hard, burnin' angry pools o' purple while ma's is scared and frantically goin’ around the room.

  “HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU COME BACK INTO MINT'S LIFE! WHY ARE YOU HERE AFTER STAYING AWAY FOR EIGHT YEARS? GET THE BUCK OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW YOU....” It takes Berry, Onyx an' the twins ta do it but they finally pull her away from ma. Out of' nowhere a hoof flies an' strikes ma's cheek ta mah horror an’ pa’s. “LET ME GO! SHE NEEDS TO GET THE TARTURUS BEATEN OUT OF HER! HOW COULD A MOTHER JUST UP AND ABANDON HER CHILD?! SPECIALLY ONE AS SWEET AS MINT?!” She struggles an’ flails around while bein’ dragged off.

  “Ah..... Ah'm sorry ma fer that. She.....”

  “It's not your fault Mint, she is right, I really let you down by being away for so long. No matter what I do going forward won't make up for that fact, but I am glad you want me to be a part of your life.” She wraps me in a wing an' arm hug while giving' me a nuzzle. Sweet's rantin’ and angry outbursts can still be heard despite the distance an' walls.

  “What brought ya here so soon Amethyst? We weren' expectin' ya fer another month or so.” The questions comes as pa finishes givin' her a hug.

  “Well, I decided to go on a mini vacation with a friend of mine. Besides working with that crazy mare what is new with you two?”

  “Well, Mint's new teacher filed a report ta FPS cause she thinks Mint ain' in a stable enough environment. Luckily tomorrow we got a trial gig that can work out fer us. Housin’ however is the main issue right now. We'll manage somehow, we always do.” It's at that time mah rumblin' belly announces its need fer food, causing' me ta blush. “We better get some grub before Mint wakes the town up. Wanna join us?”

  Mah blush grows even brighter as Ah give pa a mockin’ 'glare. “Sure, where do you suggest going?”

  “How ‘bout Sugarcube Corner? That place looked kinda fun.”

  Ma is on the verge o' agreein’ befor pa cuts her off. “Sorry Mint, yer still on punishment.” A grumble an' huff passes through mah throat as mah parents fall alittle behind me. Ah can hear them whisperin’ heatedly but Ah can' tell what they're discussin'.

  After lunch an' gettin’ mah school supplies both ma an' pa resume talking at a distance where Ah can' hear them. ‘What are they talkin' about? Ah.....’ Mah thoughts are interrupted as an overly friendly seeming earth pony steps in front o' us, grinnin' madly.

  As ma an' pa deal with the hyper pink mare mah gaze narrows as Ah spot Diamond Tiara an' Silver Spoon. This time they seem ta be messin' with a group o' three fillies. ‘Seems like they didn’ get the message ta not mess with others.’ Angrily Ah appoach from behind after makin’ sure mah parents aren’ payin’ attention.

  Mah approach catches the attention o’ the trio first an’ their reaction causes the rich brats ta stop an’ turn, looks o’ shock an’ some fear crossin’ their muzzles. “Ah thought Ah taught ya a lesson about bullyin’ others. Now leave’em alone and get goin’.” Mah wings flare out as Ah stand in front o’ them, snarlin’.

  At mah words they turn around slowly. Upon seein’ mah aggressive stance an’ stare Diamond scrambles over Silver Spoon in an attempt ta make as hasty o’  getaway as possible.

  “Thanks uhhh, what’s yer name?” The earth filly with a pink bow an’ red mane says as she approaches. Her companions, a white unicorn with a pink an’ white mane an’ the orange coated pegasus with purple hair approach behind her, smilin’.

  “Ah’m Mint, an’ it wasn’ a problem. Ah already dealt with them once, though it got me inta trouble.” The group’s friendliness causes me ta back away some while settin’ me on edge.

  “Ah’m Apple Bloom, this here is Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo.” She points ta her friends as if she doesn’ notice my slight retreat. “An' we are.....”

  “THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” The trio shout at the same time.

  “Well uhhh, it was..... Nice ta meet ya, but Ah gotta get goin'” Hurriedly Ah return ta mah parents, ignoring the shouts of’ the fillies. ‘Great, Ah gotta share a school with not only a pair o' rich brats but also a trio o' energetic fillies who seem ta be a very friendly group. Please Celestia let this upcomin’ school year finish quickly.’