Mother Wisp watched the children explicitly. Ghost Pepper found it a tad worrisome about the nanny looking on as they quizzed with nothing to do. And more importantly for the colt, the quiz happened to be a simple question and answer.
1. Who is responsible for the setting of the sun and rising of the moon?
Answer: Princess Luna rises the moon. Princess Celestia rises the sun.
2. Who holds power over the economic society in Ponyville?
Answer: Filthy Rich.
3. You are a bureaucrat tasked with deciding who owns land and who doesn't. A family of three asks if they can buy some land to till their crops. What would you do?
Answer: Negotiate a trade. Ask for the crops to be sold and pay the family with reasonable sales on their product.
The colt's mind wondered not surprisingly long after the fifth question. In fact, he began thinking of another scenario. As much as Sherclop Holmes has interested him with the mystery, the pegasus once again figuring a way things could have gone differently for Constance and Tussle. And to make it a bit more interesting to the colt, he decided to add in a displaced Sherclop himself. The colt stopped at his introduction.
'But wait... they are from two different places... why would they...?' He heard the sound of a wooden snap that made him stiffen and look up. Mother Wisp was eyeing his direction with a skeptical look and a foot long ruler. Ghost Pepper quickly ducked back into the paper and began furiously writing quick guesses to the questions. When he had finished, he looked back up to see Mother Wisp smile before glancing at the rest of the room. A quiet breath to ease the colt. His gaze then fell to the back of a long silky blond mane. The image of the mare on the stage and her younger self.
Despite being the same age, she has shown more maturity than the rest of the kids in the orphanage. Another sign of how much influence she has with the decrepit place. Ghost Pepper sighed quietly. How in the world is he going to make her come clean? He can't confront her normally. She would just write him off or shrug him away like she always did. Probably criticize him for bothering her rather than doing any work. Which is not the case. The colt saw himself as the go to helper. He would even gladly help Mother Wisp with the more back breaking work. The more the colt ran this through his head, the more his dread made him realize why he had become the walking carpet. He then looked to the right of the filly.
The back of Merriweather visible. But her expression was hidden by her bangs. Ghost Pepper furrowed his brows.
'Why does she keep following her like a puppy?' The colt saw Alabaster at first as somepony who came from a higher class. Nothing but a snooty and all around bratty spoiled child. But after three days, she had shown him up. She had a very conclusive opinion about him. Ever since the favorite teddy bear of Merriweather was destroyed and him being the whipping boy and taking the blame. And yet, the colt responsible for the incident had been long adopted, the blame had stuck with him for five years. Again, the colt remained quiet, his thoughts running through his head.
'Should I write a letter? No, she would think it would be a bit creepy. What about giving her false intel and then cornering her at one of the dead end halls?' The colt blinked at the latter thought. 'That seems a little scary even for me.' The colt rubbed his temples, scrunching his face. 'Maybe ask her to meet me by the oak tree and then discuss it there? That seems a more safe driven idea. But she would see through it instantly.' Ghost Pepper couldn't understand why it was difficult to get her to come alone. Another thought came to mind. What if he can't get her talk at all? This whole thing could be a big waste of time. He leaned back on his chair and looked at the blank ceiling. Again, he darted his eyes in thought.
Visualizing ideas and scenarios in his head and having it scrawl out on the ceiling. The words weaved in his mind and the images played out like a movie projector. But there were so many choice. Which one could he possibly use that can get her to talk about that dream? Ghost Pepper's thoughts were broken when Mother Wisp cleared her throat. He looked to see her eyeing him again with a stern look. Only this time, she was at his desk. He looked to see his playmates looking at him patiently. A stack of papers floating next to her.
"Pepper, I hope you have finished your quiz and not have drifted off into dream land." she said sternly. Ghost Pepper felt a touch of red on his cheeks as he gave his paper to her. She looked it over quickly before smiling. "Well then, children. I appreciate your dedication to your studies. And since you all have been on good behavior, I have a special surprise for you all." The remaining kids began murmuring to each other. "I have a friend in Ponyville who has agreed to host a field trip." Gasps of excitement escaped them next. "We are going to Ponyville to visit her as we attend a festival to celebrate the princesses visit to Ponyville." More excited murmurs.
"Will Pinkie Pie be there?" one filly asked. Mother Wisp giggled.
"Oh, I'm sure she is planning something even bigger than last time."
"What about Rainbow Dash! She's pretty cool!" A colt stated. "She's with the Wonderbolts!" Again, the nanny smiled.
"I'm sure she has a performance raring to go."
"Will Applejack have more apple pie?" Another colt asked. Mother Wisp winked.
"Darn tootin'." More murmurs of excitement. Mother Wisp held up a hoof. "Alright, dears. Quiet down." She scanned the room. "Now, I know you are all excited about the event. But I have to make some ground rules before we begin." Murmurs of dismay. "Rule number one. You are to stick with your partner through out the field trip. You must stick close and no wondering off. That goes for you, Mutton." A groan of understanding came from a young colt in the back of the room. "Rule number two. If you do get lost. Head towards the fountain and wait there patiently. Rule number three." She looked at the children. "You are free to wonder to the nearby stores, but please stay within the center of Ponyville. Me and Funnel will be watching over you all, so please bear in mind. And lastly." She looked at the young pegasus colt, causing him to arch a brow. "Have fun."
The colt slumped a little. He knew well what she meant. But the only problem was that everyone already had picked out their partners. Leaving him to look at them expectantly. Hoping that one of them would offer to be his partner. When non had, he sighed and stood up, leaving the chattering room, not realizing he caught the attention of one pony.
"U-umm... I'll be your partner if you want." Ghost Pepper stopped and looked. He was about to turn the corner at the hallway when he was addressed. Pallet, the cream colored colt with an artist beret and a yellow scarf rubbed his foreleg with his other one. The pegasus colt arched a brow, unexpected of the sudden confrontation.
"O-oh?" he started. "D-don't you usually go with Crumb Cake?" Pallet bowed his head.
"He... got adopted." he said sadly. Ghost Pepper didn't know what else to say. Pallet and Crumb were practically inseparable. There was never a moment when the both of them would sit together in arts and craft and just draw to their heart's content. Even outside of arts and craft, they would pretty much draw and draw and draw. They even made a little game that was kind of hard to understand for the young colt. Pallet sighed. "I just thought... you would like to partner up?" Ghost Pepper again was uncertain of how to respond. He almost felt guilty about it. He darted his eyes in thought. Remembering a passage from the tale of Constance and Tussle.
They were practically strangers and didn't hit if off at the start. But they eventually became inseparable themselves. Without a pass of words, the colt nodded hesitantly. Pallet gave a small smile. "Thanks Pepper. I'm not sure who else I could actually turn too." Ghost Pepper arched a questioning brow.
"What do you mean?" Pallet realized what he had said before rubbing the back of his head.
"W-well, I just thought that maybe... that you would be okay with it since everyone seems to avoid you." Ghost Pepper felt like a knife got struck through his heart. 'What cruel world have I've been brought into?'
~~~***~~~
A bus carriage had waited outside. Funnel tightened his reigns before nodding to the nanny.
"All set, ma'am." Mother Wisp smiled.
"Alright, dears. Remember what I've said and please becareful." The children rushed into the bus carriage excitedly. Ghost Pepper watched as Funnel growled quietly in annoyance as the kids shouted and rocked the bus. Clearly, the gardener wasn't too pleased with this. The image of him hitting the mare came back to Ghost Pepper. 'What was all that about?' He was almost tempted to ask, but thought better of it. Perhaps it's best not to get involved. Adults tend to sort things out themselves. As him and Pallet got on the bus, the colt noticed the gardener glancing quickly at him suspiciously. Taking a seat, the two sat quietly as they watched the rest of the children talked amongst themselves happily. Ghost Pepper adjusted a light blue and white pattern scarf around his neck.
Ghost Pepper never really liked going out of the orphanage without his scarf. He can't remember when he had gotten it. It has been with him ever since he came here. And whenever Mother Wisp decide to take the children down to Ponyville for special events and birthday parties, he would bring it with him. The scarf, being a little too big on the young colt, was tattered on the amount of times he had worn it to and fro. It even had small stitches where Mother Wisp had fixed the tears to the best of her abilities. But even that didn't stop him from wearing it. Even on a warm spring day. Pallet looked at the young colt.
"Isn't it a bit warm to be wearing a scarf?" he asked. Ghost Pepper sighed quietly, adjusting it to non-agreeable position that caused him to give up entirely.
"I know that... it's just..." how can the colt put it? He wasn't sure why or how it was in his possession. But he felt like it had some sort of significant meaning to his past life. "It's a long story." Pallet rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't mind stories." Ghost Pepper arched a brow at him. "I feel that telling a story is another form of art." This was true. Being an beginner writer himself, he found it fascinating to jot ideas down on a piece of paper. It was like he could bring anything he want to life by just thinking it. And the thought of seeing another world he created come to life was fun. The only hard part was trying to picture it perfectly without some means of inspiration. And the colt struggled with this greatly. It's a wonder why he could never come to a happy conclusion of his revision in Constance and Tussle.
"So..." Ghost Pepper hesitated, unsure of what to bring up. "What... do you draw exactly?" Pallet smiled and reached back into his saddle bag, pulling out a sketch book that has seen better days.
"Oh, all kinds of things! Like this, for instance!" He flipped through doodles before reaching one he thought would interest him. He held up the book and the young colt noticed something familiar about it.
"Isn't that Tea Stout?" he asked. Pallet blinked and looked at it, a touch of red on his cheeks.
"O-oh, not that one! I-I mean this one!" he again held up a picture and this time, it was a sketched image of the oak tree down a dirt path. Ghost Pepper studied the drawing, seeing the smooth lines and texture that was added in for detail. Even the leaves on it looked like they were the real deal. Ghost Pepper was impressed.
"That's actually... really good." he said. Pallet smiled, still red at the cheeks.
"But that's not all I can do. Check this out!" he flipped through pages again before coming to a stop at a picture. It was a colored one. Ghost Pepper saw it as a back side image of Mother Wisp behind a desk and looking at a chalk board. She had chalk in her magic and was in the process of writing a sentence. In fact, the picture reminded Ghost Pepper.
"Isn't that when she taught us literature?" he asked. Pallet nodded.
"Yeah! And also, this one!" the eager young artist spent the time showing Ghost Pepper his creations as the carriage began heading towards Ponyville. And as the colt talked excitedly to Ghost Pepper about his inspirations and life drawings of some of the kids in the orphanage, he couldn't help but felt like he had missed out a lot of it. The more he talked about his art, the more Ghost Pepper suddenly begin having a thought. And it wasn't about the one of Constance and Tussle.
No, to him, this thought was something more unique. An idea he felt that could probably work. All he needed was an edge. Pallet continued to talk before realizing Ghost Pepper bow his head in thought. The colt flushed.
"S-sorry if I talk a lot. I-I don't mean to annoy you." Ghost Pepper shook his head.
"You're fine. I just had a thought occurred to me." Pallet seemed relieved before putting down his sketch book.
"Oh?" Yes, it's perfect! Well, more or less to the colt. But where should he start? So many thoughts were running through his head on how he can go about it. Even Pallet was curious as to what was going on through his head. "Pepper?" he looked at him and rubbed the back of his head.
"O-oh sorry. What were you saying?"
~~~***~~~
As the bus carriage arrived into the center of Ponyville, the kids hopped out with their partners and lined up as they waited for Mother Wisp to speak. After discussing rules with Funnel and a purple mare with a bubblegum striped mane and smiling daisies for a cutie-mark, she turned and smiled at them.
"Alright, dears. Remember the rules and no wondering off outside of the plaza." she turned to the mare. "Ms. Cheerilee will also be supervising this trip along with her own class. Feel free to partner up with them if you feel two isn't enough. Dismis-" again the nanny was cut off as the children bolted from the line and went their ways around the festival. Ghost Pepper looked on in awe at the festivities. Ponyville does get lively as an event starts out. Most of its' residents do their part in setting up banners, helping with games and activities, music and performances. There is one pony, however, that the children truly enjoy more. An overly excited and cheerful pink earth pony, who was bouncing around on her hooves. She was balancing ten pies on her head with such grace that the colt couldn't figure out how she was able to do it.
She stopped in front of a stand where he noticed a familiar looking orange mare behind it.
"Thanks fer' your help, sugar cube." Applejack smiled. Pinkie Pie made a motion with her hoof in a cool like manner.
"No sweat, cus'! Buuut, I do have one eeny-tiniee-bitty favor to ask of you." the energetic mare said. Applejack tipped her hat.
"Sure." Pinkie Pie immediately tossed her head up and the pies landed perfectly on the counter. She grabbed three of them in an elastic like manner before smiling.
"Mind if I borrow some of them for a performance? I really think it'll do great if I used your pies! And it might even bring more business!" Applejack chuckled.
"Shoot, why not? Just don't go making too much of a scene." she said before realizing Pinkie Pie had already dug into one of the pies. She lifted her head, chewing happily before giving a sheepish smile.
"Whoopsies! Right, performance!" With that, the pink earth pony quickly zipped away, leaving Ghost Pepper to question how fast she went. He thought better than to ask before realizing Pallet had trotted over to the stand. Ghost Pepper quickly trotted up in time to see Applejack smile.
"Well howdy, sugar cubes. What can 'Ah do ya' for?" the mare asked before noticing Ghost Pepper. "Oh hey! Thanks fer' helpin' my sis and her friends yesterday." Ghost Pepper wanted to say to her it was no problem, but he again had that feeling that washed over him, making him shiver a little and adjust his scarf. Pallet admired the pies on the stand, his mouth watering at the sight.
"They look so delicious." he said. Applejack leaned over the counter to see them better.
"Yeup! Apple Family recipe, just like always." she looked around before winking at them. "Granny Smith made them extra special for the festival." Pallet licked his lips.
"How much?" he asked. Ghost Pepper arched a questioning brow at the artist before the orange mare nodded.
"Only five bits." She then waved a hoof over the counter, motioning to the apple sacks sitting in the front. "Or an apple for only two bits." Pallet dug into his saddle bag. Only to give a defeated sigh. Ghost Pepper nodded to himself quietly.
'We are street urchins. We don't necessarily come off as the one's with an allowance.' the colt thought to himself. But, that didn't mean Mother Wisp had tried. About two years back, Ghost Pepper remembers when the late janitor Weiss no longer showed up and they were tasked with cleaning, she made it an effort to try and give them an allowance. The one who did the better job not only got to be activity manager, but get paid a little more than everyone else, a balance the nanny thought was a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, one bad apple ruins them all. And that is precisely what the colt did. The one responsible for Pepper's bad name also was the one who wanted to get a little more out of his own work.
He even bullied some of the kids to let him take the credit for their work. Of course, Alabaster had tried to bring this up with the nanny, but her nemesis was more clever than she thought. And when he finally got adopted, the atmosphere had dramatically changed with the children. 'Goddesses help the poor souls who are tasked with him now.' He thought. His train of thought was broken when one of the apple sacks burst open and a yellow filly in a red mane and big bow shouted happily.
"Buy some apples!" she looked at the startled colts before sheepishly smiling at her older sister, who was giving her a stern glare. "Ehehe, sorry."
"Applebloom, you know better." Applejack said sternly. The young filly sighed as she crawled out of the sack and landed on her stomach.
"'Ah know." she then looked up and her eyes fell to Ghost Pepper. "Oh hey! it's you again!" Ghost Pepper had no idea how to respond. Again, he felt himself frozen in place. 'Why must I be tortured like this? I get it plenty from Alabaster!' he thought. Even Pallet seemed a little startled by the sudden address.
"Pepper, you know her?" he asked. Applebloom stood up and dusted herself off.
"'Course! He helped us with the apples back at the orphanage." she said with a smile. She then rubbed her chin and studied the artist. "Who are you?" Pallet smiled.
"I'm Pallet Brush. But most of my friends just call me Pallet." he said. He then looked to Ghost Pepper. "I didn't know you knew someponies outside of the orphanage." Ghost Pepper again found it hard to respond. In fact, he had barely taken a step back before shivering.
"I-It was only two days ago..." he mumbled as he adjusted his scarf. The two arched a brow at him before turning back to their conversation. Applebloom smiled and held out a hoof.
"Name's Applebloom." Pallet took her hoof and they shook. Ghost Pepper watched quietly.
'So, that's how they greet each other?' he thought to himself. A piece of his idea was in place. In fact, maybe he could use this confrontation for his characters. Perfect! Applebloom turned to him.
"Umm, sorry for bringin' this up. But I couldn't help but notice you haven't gotten yer' cutie mark yet." Ghost Pepper looked at her before turning to his flank. He sighed before nodding. That was when the filly rubbed her chin in thought, before beaming at an idea. "I have an idea!" she turned to her big sister. "Mind if I take them off of ya' fer' a bit?" Applejack sighed and nodded with a small smile.
"Alright, but you better git' back here in time for the festival." she said. Applebloom was already grabbing ahold of both of the colt's legs and dragging them along as she galloped past her.
"Cool, thanks!" Ghost Pepper found it strange. He was running alongside Pallet and Applebloom down the street and taking a left. Ghost Pepper suddenly skidded to a halt, making the two turn to him. "What's wrong?" the filly asked. Ghost Pepper shivered quietly, adjusting his scarf again.
"U-umm... we aren't supposed to leave the plaza." he said. Pallet rubbed his chin.
"Oh right. Mother Wisp did say that we weren't supposed to do that." Applebloom frowned.
"Well, shoot. I was hopin' I take ya' to the club house." Ghost Pepper perked up a little.
"C-club house?" Applebloom smiled and pointed down the road.
"It's not too far from here. I have a couple of friends waitin' fer' me there anyway." Pallet beamed.
"I've never been to a club house before!" he then looked at Ghost Pepper. "Please? Can we go?" the pegasus looked at him before looking back towards the plaza. He bit his lip in hesitation. He then looked back to Pallet, giving him puppy dog eyes. The colt sighed in defeat.
"O-okay. But we have to be back for-" he didn't get to finish when Applebloom quickly grabbed his foreleg.
"Awesome! Let's go!" Again, he found himself running alongside the two. A sense of dread came to him.
'I hope I won't regret this...' he thought miserably.