Kix an Mint; Uncertain Future

~~~~~Kix~~~~~

  “What happened that caused FPS to get called on you Kix?” Amethyst’s voice is a mixture o’ concern an’ anger as she walks next ta me. We watch as Mint goes ahead o’ us, givin’ us some privacy. Ah can feel her gaze on me as Ah think how ta best answer her question.

  “Her new teacher felt that the lack o’ stability could be negatively affectin’ her. We got a trial run that’ll hopefully lead ta us havin’ an income. The only concern now is ta find permanent housin’.”

  Before we can continue our chat is interrupted by an overly friendly mare with a bouncy pink mane an’ tail. It takes us a good twenty minutes of listenin’ ta her drone on an’ on about friends an’ parties before she finally goes off on her own.

  “Well that was….. Random. Anyway, please tell me you have at least some idea of where you are going to live.”

  “Not yet, but we’re lookin’. We jus’ got here yesterday, it’s gonna take us a little longer than two days ta find a place. Don’ worry, everythin’ll turn out jus’ right.” Ah flash her a reassurin’ smile before we walk inside the diner.

  Throughout our lunch me an’ Mint catch up on what Amethyst has been up ta lately an’ we catch her up on what is new with us. A little over an hour after we finish eatin’ we finally make our way back. “Ah’m sorry bout Sweet, ever since she joined us she’s been protective o’ Mint an’ sees her as her daughter.”

  “I understand, she seems to be doing a better job of it than I am. Are you two together?”

  “Nah, we might work well together on stage, but off? Ya’ll be safer in glass house in a tornado. Speakin’ o’ which, we got a gig tomorrow an’ Mint is gonna need a babysitter, ya interested?”

  “Of course, I’d love to. Give us a chance to try and bond….. despite the past.”

  The rest o’ the day goes by quickly as Mint an’ mahself meet up with Amethyst fer dinner and go over Mint’s punishment. ‘If only things hadn’ ended badly between us, who knows where we’d be today.’

~~~~~Mint~~~~~

  ‘Grr, why do mornins have ta come so early?’ The sunshinin’ through the window falls inconveniently on mah face, ta be more specific directly on mah eyes, burning through the closed lids. Wakin’ up an’ gettin’ outa bed Ah can feel either mahself or the room swayin’ unsteadily. ‘Is this how the adults comin’ from those bars feel? If so they can have it, Ah hate this feelin’.

  “Well good morning, did you sleep well?”

  ‘That doesn’ sound like Sweet, wh….. Oh yea, Ah stayed with ma last night.’ Ah spend a few minutes just standin there till the room stops movin. “It coulda been better, how did ya sleep ma?”

  “These beds aren’t the most comfortable, but they work for the short term. We’ll take a shower and then go get ourselves something to eat.”

  A smile spreads across mah face as Ah go through mah mornin’ readiness routine. The smile drops immediately from mah muzzle as ma sits me down an’ begins ta groom mah mane. “You need to take better care of yourself Mint, your mane is full of knots. Have you been properly preening your wings?”

  “Sweet an’ Onyx have been showin’ me how ta, why?”

  “They must not be doing a good job, your feathers are a mess.” Thankfully we’re not out in public as she begins ta show me how ta preen, accordin’ ta her.

  ‘At Least Ah don’ have ta suffer the humiliation o’ bein’ babied like this in public.’ The treatment seems like it lasts fer hours before she finishes, drawin’ a long sigh o’ relief from me. “We gonna go get some food now? Ah’m starvin’.”

  Throughout breakfast me an’ ma spend the time catchin’ up. Her regalin’ me with her life an’ how she’s some stage actress back in Manehattan while Ah tell her bout the happenins o’ mah life. Despite her absence fer all o’ these years Ah can feel some connection with her along with some sorta sense o’ happiness.

  “I’m glad to see you’re being well taken care of. You know….. I’ve been thinking, I know you want to stay with your dad, but….. would you….. maybe consider….. coming to Manehattan and visit? Maybe even spend at least a few days with me? With Kix’ permission of coarse.”

  Her offer throws me a little an’ causes me ta lean back some. Lookin’ inta her eyes Ah can almost see the disappointed thoughts crossin’ her mind. “Ah’d be interestin’ in visitin’ ta start with ma. Not sure yet how comfortable Ah’d be yet staying the night with ya.” Ah try an’ make mah reply as cheerful as possible. However the delay in mah answer seems ta have the opposite effect.

  “That’s….. reasonable. When do you start school? Do you have the proper supplies yet?”

  “Ah start in two weeks an’ Ah still need ta get mah supplies.”

  “Ok, let’s go and get you your things. You know where the store is?”

~~~~~Kix~~~~~

  “Kix, don’t tell me you let Mint spend the night with her.” Sweet’s tone is barely controlled anger as we wake up an’ start gettin’ ready fer the day. The twins hard at work ensurin’ the equipment is squared away while the rest o’ us get prepared fer our first performance at the bar.

  “She needed a babysitter an’ this way with Amethyst watchin’ her we don’ have ta pay fer one. Ah know yer angry at her, but at least try an’ give her the benefit o’ the doubt. She knows what she did was very wrong an’ Ah can tell she’s sorry an’ wants ta try ta rectify the mistake.” Her refusal ta counter mah argument causes me ta sigh as we make our way towards the venue. ‘Ah hope ya aren’ right Sweet an’ that it wasn’ a big mistake.’

  “Hey, you guys got here early. Bar’s a little dead right now but you guys can start getting setup on stage. Still got about an hour or so before the lunch crowd comes in.” Cider greets as we enter, takin’ time ta shake hooves quickly before Spirits leads us towards the stage.

  “Thanks, glad ya were willin’ ta give us a shot.” As Cider, Spirits an’ mahself go over how this performance is gonna go an’ workin’ out a signal fer fresh water, the others get hard at work settin’ up an’ findin’ the best possible positions fer each o’ us on the small stage.

  The sound tests an’ warm-ups take up about thirty minutes or so, leavin’ us jus’ enough time ta make a toast fer a successful night as our tradition dictates. “Hey ya’ll, Ah’m Kix…..”

  “I’m the lovely Sweet…..”

  “This is Onyx here…..”

  “Berry here…..”

  “And I’m Snares…..”

  “We are a new band, Southern Equestrian Small Town. We hope you enjoy the show.” Once we finish our introduction we start off as planned a little after the expected lunchtime crowd finishes filterin’ in. Our performance lasts throughout lunch an’ once finished Amethyst an’ Mint join us fer a a late meal, much ta Sweet’s ire. Our real performance starts at five pm and fer the next two hours we perform cover songs o’ current or past singers. Unlike a lot o’ the current singers an’ groups we opted to dismiss the flashy special an’ sound effects, instead relyin’ on nothin’ but pure talent.

  “Ok everypony, we’re gonna switch things up now. These last two songs are originals fer us. Sweet, ya wanna show’em who they’re runnin’ with?”

  “Sure do Kix. Everypony here ready to run with the Fastest Mare in Town?” The crowds roaring response makes her smile grow even bigger as the song starts off. As she begins ta sing Sweet starts off by leanin’ towards the crowd while standin’ at the edge o’ the stage.

“You’ve got the bullets, I’ve got the gun. I’ve got a hankering for getting into something

I hit the bottle, you hit the gas,I heard you can really haul some ass.” At this point she saunters teasinly towards me as Ah play, runnin’ a hoof against mah cheek.

“I’m feeling frisky, you're feeling good, I guess the whiskey is doing what it should

I got the cigarettes, You’ve got a lighter, And when the sun goes down we’ll start a little fire”

“Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down, ‘Cause you’re running with the fastest mare in town

Ain’t you baby? I like ‘em crazy.” As she turns ta face the crowd she deliberately swats me with her tail along the the cheek she was jus’ strokin’ an’ hurries ta Onyx.

“My reputation follows me around, Just makes me want to give them more to talk about

Let’s go to town for a little while, I’ll be wearing nothing but a tattoo and a smile.”

“Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down, ‘Cause you’re running with the fastest mare in town

Ain’t you baby? You’re kinda crazy.” After slidin’ against his side she gives Onyx a smack upside the back o’ his head before makin’ her way ta center stage while we perform the instrumental.

Come on!

“I see the blue lights, we better run. Throw out the bottle and I’ll hide the gun

If he pulls us over I’ll turn on the charm, You’ll be in the slammer and I’ll be on his arm.” With a seductive smile she stands next ta Berry an’ he continues ta play with one hoof while the other circles around Sweet’s midsection.

“Ain’t no use in trying to slow me down, ‘Cause you’re running with the fastest mare in town

Ain’t you baby? Well I told you I was crazy. No I ain’t nobody's baby. Hey!”

“He’s got the bullets, He’s got a gun, I got the hankering for getting into something.”

  As we’re playin the final few notes ta Sweet’s song Ah look over at Onyx an’ give him a smile. “Hey Colt, ya ready ta do this?”

  “I’m ready to roll Kix.”

  Jus’ before we hit the last note we transition ta the final song fer the night seamlessly. Ah look first ta the band then over the crowd, smilin’ widely. “Let’s show’em how we roll.”

(Kix and Onyx) “This is how we roll, We hanging round singing out everything on the radio, We light it up, Light it up, light it up” Me an’ Onyx stand off ta the sides o’ the stage as we start.

(Sweet) “Haha, it’s the Dirty South connection y'all”

(Kix and Onyx) “We light it up, Light it up, light it up”

(Sweet) “Uh... Uh... It's flowin’... Uh...uh... It's thumpin’...”

(Onyx) “The mixtape's got a little Hank, little Drake, A little something bumping, thump, thumping on the wheel ride. The mix in our drink's a little stronger than you think. So get a grip, take a sip of that feel right. The ride's jacked up, flat bills flipped back. Yeah you can find us where the party's at” As he sings he pauses long enough ta flip the bill o’ his hat up, grinnin’ as he resumes strummin’ his guitar without missin’ a beat.

(Kix and Onyx) “This is how we roll. We hanging round singing out everything on the radio. We light it up with our hooves up. This is how we roll, This is how we do, We're burning down the night shooting bullets at the moon baby, This is how we roll”

(Kix) “Ah’m from the Dirty, Dirty baby! Listen… My accent’s got a little twang, little thang, Little sumpin, sumpin Always make the mares scream my… My name louder, reverse, cowgirl Little bump, bump in that trunk All up in my… New Maybach, Now how well my stand back. You can find us where the party at” At this part Ah sling mah guitar around ta rest on mah back, my forehooves movin’ in time with the beat.

(Kix and Onyx) “This is how we roll. We hanging round singing out everything on the radio. We light it up with our hooves up. This is how we roll, This is how we do, When the world turn ugly I just turn and look at you baby, This is how we roll” Both me an’ Onyx turn ta Sweet an’ point both forehooves at her, givin’ her a wink at the same time.

(Sweet) “This how we roll baby yeah”

(Kix) “Yeah we're proud to be young, We stick to our guns, We love who we love and we love to get drunk”

(Onyx) “Yeah we cuss on them Mondays And pray on them Sundays, Pass it around and we dream about one day”

(Kix and Onyx) “Cause This is how we roll”

(Sweet) “cause this is how we roll baby yeah”

“We hanging round singing out everything on the radio. We light it up with our hooves up, This is how we roll, This is how we ride, We slangin up the mud cuttin’ through the countryside baby. This is how we roll, Yeah this is how we roll, This is how we roll”

“Yeah This is how we roll, This is how we do. We're burning down the night shooting bullets at the moon baby, This is how we roll, Yeah This is how we roll. This is how we roll.”

  Once the song ends we can’ help but smile from ear ta ear while breathin’ hard. “Again we’re Southern Equestrian Small Town and we hope ya enjoyed the show!” Before we exit the stage we gather by the edge an’ give the large crowd a couple bows as they continue ta applaud.