Smiling Sun looked around and found a sleeping Redheart. “Redheart? REDHEART!” she called from the blackboard where she wrote on a math question before. Redheart bolted up and was looking around dumbfounded, mumbling “Me... who... where... what?” Of course Redheart earned giggles from the whole class for this. With a distinct “SHHHH!!!” the teacher calmed down the class, while Redheart stared on the blackboard. “So Redheart, what’s 60/3?” asked Smiling Sun, smiling confidently to Redheart. If there weren’t the street noise coming from the open classroom window, you would have heard the gears turning in Redhearts head. She concentrated and thought hard about the math question, but no result came to her mind.
Smiling Sun sighed and changed the subject. “Okay class. Math lesion is over for today and now to a small organisational part. I present you the “job trial week”. In this week, everypony has the chance to try out his dream job.” the teacher said smiling confidently. The fillies and colts in class whispered a bit to each other, but the most were listening with rapt attention. Even the before sleepy looking Redheart was bright awake again and listened to her teacher with perked ears. Smiling Sun cleared her throat and continued. “So I need two things from you, for one the place where you want to try out your job and for second a signature of your parents!” with this Smiling Sun hoofed small forms to all her students. “Okay my beloved students you’re free for the rest of the day to think about where you want to be in the job trial week. ... Oh and don’t forget the signature of your parents. Good bye my little ponies!” With a simultaneous “GOODBYE, Ms. Sun!” the fillies and colts stormed out of class laughing and talking.
As Redheart wanted to leave the classroom too, she was held back softly on the shoulder by Smiling Sun. The white filly with her pink mane turned around and looked at her teacher who looked back with a worried face. “Redheart, we really have to talk about your school grades!” she said as she sat down at her desk and Redheart followed her. “Why? But they are good!” answered Redheart with her sweet filly voice. Smiling Sun took a notebook labelled with “grades” out of a drawer and put it on the desk opening it. “In mathematics it doesn’t look really good, dearie! There you just got barely a D! Why can’t you do the same as in equestrian or history? There you are on a flawless A+. And today you were completely out of it again. What’s the matter with you?” Redheart sighed and though shortly before answering “I... um... I think its cause that stupid technical stuff isn’t interesting at all!” Frustrated the little filly sat down on the chair in front of the teachers desk and crossed her hoofs pouting. The mare on the other side of the table gave an understanding nod. “I know how you feel. When I was your age I also wasn’t the best in this subject, but you really need mathematics everywhere.” Smiling Sun saw Redhearts glum face and comforted her with some encouraging words.
“Okay, I offer you a math coaching, but I do this just for you, cause I know that it’s not that easy for you and cause I know your parents!” Redheart looked back up at her teacher with a sly smile, through still having a queasy feeling. Smiling Sun stood up, walked around her desk and stroked the mane of the filly affectionately. “Don’t worry! We’ll solve your little problem. And now you should head home and think about what you wanna do next week!” She smiled down at the little filly, which smiled back factitious. Redheart stood up and trotted outside heeding home. On her way home she got taunted from some classmates, because she still didn’t earn her cutie mark. She ignored the calls from the twerps and knocked on the front door of her home. Her mother Paper Clip opened the door and pulled her daughter into a warm hug smiling at her motherly. “How was school today, sweetie?” asked Paper Clip and closed the door after the little filly and walked into the kitchen. “Uummm... good” answered Redheart uneasy. She followed her mother into the kitchen and sat down at the dining table, where a steaming bowl of tasty hay soup was already waiting for her. “Thanks mommy!” Redheart smiled cutely at her mother and dug right into her meal with gusto. Paper Clip gave her daughter a sly smile and sat down beside her, wrapping a hoof around her back. Redheart finished her soup with a slurp and a small burp. “Sowy Mommy!” Redheart looked up at her mother with a giggle, who already looked at her playfully.
“Ms. Sun introduced the job trial week to us today and there we can try out the job we wanna do later. Then she gave us this form here!” Redheart then galloped off to the entrance room where she placed her saddlebags earlier. The little filly took the form for the job trial week out of her saddlebags and galloped back to her mother, who took the paper looking at it and then at Redheart. “And you already know where you want to go?” Redheart pondered shortly, remembering about the last weeks in the hospital and how much fun she had there. Honey Bandage checked up every day and played with the small filly, bringing joy to her. Redheart was even weeping bitterly as she got released from the hospital, because she thought she’d never see her friend again. “I think I want back to Honey!” the little filly said with a beaming smile. Paper Clip already expected this answer and stroked her daughters mane with a smile. “Why not? You two really understood each other and to be a nurse is a very respectable profession. Also she gave you Cherry, who is sleeping in your bed upstairs.” She smiled happily and signed the form. “Now we just have to ask the hospital for permission, but I don’t think they won’t say no. Anyway you want to help them.” Paper Clip said nuzzling Redhearts mane. “I’m so happy to see her again!” the filly said standing on her hind hoofs and waving with her little hoofsies.
They heard a knock on the door and Paper Clip rushed to the front door to open it for her husband. Ever Line looked worn out. He still wore his vest and kissed Paper Clip. Redheart saw her father coming in and leapt on him, to give him a welcome hug. Ever Line hugged his daughter back lovingly. “How is my small sweetheart doing?” he asked while he went to the kitchen to wash his hoofs. “I’m great daddy!... Ms. Sun told us today about the job trial week. We can try out the job there where we want to work later when we are grown up. Isn’t that great?” Redheart smiled up to her father with her cute smile. Ever Line furrowed his brow shortly while thinking about the news. It was THE opportunity to get Redheart interested into technology and to convince her to try out the job at his work. “That’s great sweetie! Then I can introduce you to my boss tomorrow morning. For sure he will be happy, that you want to come to us.” Redheart deadpanned immediately. She wanted to work with her friend. It was her dream job. “But I … uhm... don’t want to go there daddy. I really wanna go to Honey!” Ever Line put his hoof on his temple and thought about what he should say now.
“Sweety... we already talked about this.Why you have to make this so difficult!” He sat down at the kitchen table and chewed on his hay steak with an annoyed expression. Redheart looked up to her father intimidated, but then spoke up with determination in her voice “But I don’t want daddy. It’s too difficult for me.” She looked to her father with a saddened face. Ever Line was again rubbing his temples. “Listen sweetie. Why you don’t buckle down and learn something? It can’t be that hard!” He looked even more annoyed than before. “Stay out of this!” Ever Line said pointing to his wife, who opened her mouth to disagree with him. “Why can’t I do what I want? I don’t want to work in this stupid factory!” Redheart responded rebelliously, but it was definitely the work wording. Ever Line hated it when somepony talked to him like this. He was sick and tired of getting snarled at and snapped. “NOW LISTEN REDHEART! I DON’T PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR YOUR EDUCATION TO SEE YOU FAILING! LOOK AT YOURSELF. YOU ARE BAD IN MATHEMATICS AND YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A CUTIE MARK... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEFORE I HAVE TO DRAW THE CONSEQUENCES!” he was screaming at his own daughter. His own flesh and blood. It was already too late, as he realized what he has done. Tears were running down Redhearts cheeks and she galloped up to her bedroom crying.
“Wait... I...” Ever Line called after his daughter, but Redheart didn’t listen. She galloped up to her room slamming the door shut and leapt on her bed. In her bed she buried her little face into the pillow and soaked it with tears. Why couldn’t her father understand, that she didn’t wanted to work there? She didn’t understood it. He also hurt her feeling badly. “YOU ARE BAD IN MATHEMATICS AND YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE A CUTIE MARK” Redheart heard the sentence again and again in her head and it burned into her memory. She pulled Cherry close and hugged the plushie, while she shed bitter tears.
“You really did fine there, again! Supper is off!” Paper Clip retorted sharply and walked out of the kitchen not even looking at her husband. Ever Line just looked blank at the opposite wall. Paper Clip walked up to her daughters room and knocked on the door. “Sweetie? It’s me!” she said in a soft comforting tone. Redheart didn’t hear her mother, because she had her tear stained face burrowed into the pillow. But then she heard her mother between her sobs. She sniffed shortly and let her mother in. Paper Clip directly picked her up and pulled her into a comforting hug sitting down on the bed. “Shhhh.... It’s okay darling. I’m here.” She took a hooferchief and wiped the tears out of the little fillies face. Redheart look on the ground with a downcast face and sobbed a little bit more.
Paper Clip picked up Redheart and cuddled the little filly to her chest. “Shhh Let it out sweetie!” The mare then stroked her daughters mane to calm her, as she started to cry again. Both stayed in this position for about half an hour until Redheart calmed down finally. After all the little fillies tears were shed, her mother tried to talk to her about the situation. “You should know sweetie, that it isn’t easy for your dad. Everyday they are mobbing him on work.” Redheart answered with her cute filly voice with a saddened undertone. “But why he took it out on me mommy? I don’t want that.” She looked up to her mother with a sad expression and saw her mother giving her an understanding nod. “I know that sweetie. I don’t want to force you to do something too, but you really should get better in math. I’ll have a talk with your father later.” Redheart sat up and sniffed shortly. “Ms. Sun offered me to coach me in math.” Paper Clip released a relieved sigh as she heard that. “There you go. Thats already half the battle!” She ruffled the mane of the filly playfully and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I’ll bring you supper later okay? And tomorrow we’ll go together to the hospital.” Redheart nodded in higher spirits now and her mother left her room to go downstairs into the kitchen to prepare supper.
The hole time Ever Line was sitting in the living room, with his head lying on his hoof. How could he have done such thing? Why did he snap on his daughter? Why didn’t he control himself, instead of screaming at his beloved sweet little filly? He didn’t know. He was shocked and went to bed earlier.
After a delicious supper, cooked by Paper Clip, Redheart was lying in her bed satisfied. The pink maned filly pulled her blankie up till her neck and cuddled her plushie Cherry, while her mother read her a goodnight story. Paper Clip stopped reading, as her daughter fell asleep and whispered a silent “Awwww” She tucked Redheart in and gave her a motherly kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight and sweet dreams my little angel!” Paper Clip turned off the light and closed the door of the bedroom silently. She walked into her bedroom and laid down to her husband. She didn’t wanted to wake him up and bother him, but in the morning she would have a serious word with him. Paper Clip cuddled between the front hoofs of Ever Line and fell asleep peacefully.
Meanwhile Redheart was walking in her dream world, but this time there were ponies in white coats instead of blurry light figures. She blinked in her dream and a scene rushed up to her. “DOCTOR HURRY!... COME HERE, SHE IS DIEING ON US!... BUCK! I’LL BE THERE IN A MOMENT!” some nurses called out in a mix of voices. It was the perfect chaos. The whole hospital was sunk in chaos. So many injured. So many crying ponies. So much blood....