Author's Note

Rewritten chapter.

2. School time

Mom wasn't around in the morning either.

However, Misty made herself not worry. She was too nervous for school to be nervous about other things.

Dad had made her favourite for breakfast; blueberry pancakes and freshly squeezed orange juice. He had even cleaned up the burnt mark at the top of the stairs.

She walked through Ponyville and onto the Ponyville Schoolhouse.

It was a bright red, and an older mare named Cheerilee was waving foals and other creatures inside.

Misty trembled with excitement. She was wearing her best dress, a lush green and black.

She had gotten it for her Birthday.

Sure, some of the fillies twittered at her -no one else was wearing one- but when she sat down, the green unicorn next to her said: "Where did you get your dress? I'm Nettle, by the way."

"I'm Misty Flare. My Dad got it for me. Do you like it? I bet you do."

Cheerilee started talking loudly, and Misty fell silent and started to pay attention to the lesson.

She made everycreature go around the room and introduce themselves and one cool fact about themselves.

Misty said she liked dresses.

Nettle said she liked plants.

The others didn't matter so much.

Cheerilee talked about Ponyville and its history of the different races, Princess Twilight, and cutie marks.

Before Misty knew it, it was recess, and she headed outside with Nettle to play.

Griffons swung on the swings, fillies and colts ran around with skipping ropes, and Misty Flare and Nettle sat in the grass to pretend to have a tea party.

How dignified!

Nettle ended up being very rich. Her parents ran a flower shop in Ponyville and at various other places over Equestria.

"You're so grown up." Misty sipped her pretend-tea. "I like your cutie mark."

Nettle's cutie mark was a nettle plant, of course.

"I'm good at gardening. That's how I got my cutie mark," Nettle said, glancing at her flank. "I want to go to the School for Gifted Unicorns. I bet I'll get in."

Misty frowned. "I want to go to the School for Gifted Unicorns too. I hope we both get in."

"Same. One of our other classmates wants to get into the school. I'm glad you're not lame like her." Nettle pointed her hoof to the corner of the schoolyard, where a unicorn was sitting in the grass, reading a book.

Misty recognized the book. It was on her bookshelf at home.

The unicorn was a light brown with a white mane tipped with red.

"She's Savarin," explained Nettle, wrinkling her nose. "I live next to her. Her family runs a bakery. Ugh. She's also a blank flank. She's super weird. She wanted to be my friend, and I kept telling her, no, but she kept following me around. Also, her parents are, like, divorced."

Misty nodded along, not saying that technically she was a blank flank too and that she kinda hoped her parents would get divorced so they'd stop arguing.

There were some things you couldn't ever tell your friends, she figured.

"Hey Savarin," shouted Nettle, making Misty wince before joining in. "Blank flank, blank flank, blank flank."

Savarin buried her nose deeper into her book.

Dad picked her up at the end of school.

Misty didn't need to ask to know that Mom hadn't returned.

She hid behind Dad, not wanting to let Nettle see her. Then, if Nettle came home for a playdate, she'd know Mom wasn't around.

That wouldn't do.

Misty was slightly glum as they walked home.

Dad didn't ask her what was wrong. He probably figured she was glum about Mom.

Let him think that.

Their house was in the middle of a street. It was the same as all the other Ponyville houses surrounding it, but it was home.

"Is there anything you want?" Dad asked as they stepped inside.

"Books."

Mom would've said she had too many books and to use the library. Dad never said that; he only nodded and told her to write down the titles of the books he had to buy.

Perhaps it was better Mom was gone.

Dad was so easy to manipulate. He would do whatever she wanted.
It was Mom who was a stickler for rules.

Misty went to her room, took off her dress, and did some reading. She was just getting to the end of a spellbook, and sure she couldn't do any of the spells -yet, it wasn't for lack of trying- when Dad called up the stairs for her to come down.

Misty trotted down and found Dad with menus spread open on the table and a piece of paper dotted with highly complex math.

The math must've been his financial plans for his business.

"I'm getting takeout for dinner," Dad explained. "Do you want a burger?"

"Yes. And fries." Misty turned to go back upstairs, but Dad coughed. She turned around again with a sigh. "What?"

"I was thinking..." Dad adjusted his tie, setting down the menu he was pouring over. He moved the chair until he was directly facing Misty. "How would you feel about moving?"

"Moving?" repeated Misty. "But I have to be close to Canterlot so that I can get into the magic school-"

"I can get you in any way. I have the money to do that. We'd be moving to Kirin Grove in a few months. My brewery would do a lot better in Kirin Grove. There'll be no competition with the Apple family."

"No, you can't."

Dad tousled her mane with a grin. "It's still just a plan. Think on it."

"Never, never, never!" shouted Misty. She ran up the stairs to her room and flopped onto her bed. Tears stained her cheeks.

"Leafy," she said. "Leafy." More anger leeched into her voice. "I don't want to move!"

She flopped back onto the bed.

Leafy said nothing.

Misty must've fallen asleep because she was aware suddenly of delicious smells coming from downstairs.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and went downstairs.

Dad had set the table and on her plate was a wrapped up hamburger.

Misty sat down, avoiding staring at him, and unwrapped her burger.

It was delicious.

Dad made small talk, but she communicated with grunts until he gave up.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Misty went to school, not as happy as she was yesterday.

Nettle had met two other unicorns who had recently moved from Canterlot: Sunbeam and Aurora.

They twittered with Nettle.

Misty hoped they weren't talking about her.

This days lesson was reading and magic. Cheerilee talked about how everycreature in Equestria had some form of magic, even earth ponies.
At lunchtime, she realized as her classmates were streaming outside, but she had forgotten her lunch.

"I'll talk to Cheerilee," said Misty, waving at her friends. They twittered and ran outside.

Misty watched them leave mournfully.

Cheerilee was talking to Savarin, passing her a book.

"Are you alright, Misty Flare?" asked Cheerilee, walking toward Misty.

Savarin was flipping through her book, hovering it in the air with white magic.

"I forgot my lunch," Misty said.

"You can have some of my sandwich," Cheerilee said brightly. "Or, we can contact your parents."

Savarin hovered her lunch over to Misty and took out one sandwich, passing it to Misty.

Misty mouthed blank flank to Savarin when Cheerilee wasn't watching.

"Be nice, Misty," Cheerilee said. "Say thank you."

"Sorry," Misty grumbled. "Thank you. I'll eat it."

Savarin nodded. She stepped outside with Savarin, and Savarin went right to sit by herself.

Misty searched the yard, locating her friends underneath a tree.

They were talking and laughing.

She ate the sandwich as she walked, dropping crumbs on the grass. The closer she came, she heard them talking.

"I bet Misty can't even do magic," Nettle said.

"Totally," chorused Sunbeam and Aurora.

Misty moved closer, breathing in and out. She didn't want to burn the sandwich she was holding.

"She'll never get into the Unicorn school like Twilight wouldn't let her in. She's a kirin, not a unicorn, and kirins have, like, weak magic," Nettle said.

"She can't even make things hover," Sunbeam added. She stopped to make an imitation of Misty, trying to use her magic.

"Like, Savarin has more chance of her passing."

Aurora turned pale when she spotted Misty. "Uh, Nettle..."

"I'm talking-" began Nettle.

Misty dumped her lunch over Nettle's mane. Mayo and greens landed in Nettle's eyes, dripping down into her fur.

Everycreature around went quiet.

Misty pushed Nettle to the ground and socked her square in the jaw.