Language check. All in English.
"This is boring." Robin huffed a little. Sitting on the old swing set, alone, she didn't move. "Mike should have taken me with him, not Misty!" A rock found its way onto her boot and was soon skidding across the parking area.
She kicked her heels into the dirt and started to swing back and forth. Robin tilted her head back and stared at the sky. Longing filled her, the same longing she had felt the first time she had seen Misty fly through the air. "Stupid not-having-wings!"
Jumping off the swing, Robin stumbled with her landing and started to look around for her mother. When she spotted Joyce and Candela in the little covered box, Robin smirked. "It's not like mum said I couldn't go this time." She grinned, happy with her reasoning.
Crossing the main road was something that Robin took seriously, she looked both ways, then again, and then a third time before crossing. She was so proud of herself as she reached her home that she completely forgot that the house was locked. "Well that sucked." She looked at the house—that had never seemed so much like a fortress before—and contemplated her options. "Duh, windows!"
Ten minutes later, Robin slumped onto the porch. "I can't believe no one left a window open! This is the worst…" She kicked a rock that was near her shoe. Her brain ticked over a few times before she came up with her best idea yet. Jumping to her feet, Robin set her sights on where she assumed the mine was.
The walk took Robin nearly twenty minutes, but halfway into it she found the road leading up to her target. Skipping along the old track, she stopped when she saw the trees open out into a clearing. A few cars were parked nearby, but they weren't Robin's focus. "I'm going to—"
"What are you doing up here?" Rose stepped out from behind a car, pushing the wheelbarrow (now empty) back towards the mine.
"I was just…" Robin ran the scenarios through her head. None that she could think of would get her to Equestria. "… taking a look at the mine. Cricket is boring." She pointed at the shaft that burrowed right into the mountain.
"Anyone who hates cricket can't be too bad, but I can't let you into the mine, squirt." Rose put the wheelbarrow down. "I was just clearing out some of the junk piles, want to help me look through it?" She pointed to a pile of rock that was as tall as Robin was.
"Uh…" It sounded like work, lots of work—Robin was not fooled. "What are you lookin' for?" She walked a little closer to the pile, wary of being roped into doing work on her day off from school.
"Interestin' stuff. Dave said there might be some rough gems still in there, apparently Delves did his whammy on it." Walking over to the pile, Rosetta started to pick up rocks, examine them, and tossed them into a new pile. "Go halves in anything we find?"
Unwilling to admit she didn't understand a word of what Rose had said, Robin walked over to the pile and sat down to start looking through the rocks. "So what am I looking for?"
"Anything shiny." Rose was plucking her way through the rocks for a few more moments before Robin joined her. "Your brother is—"
"A jerk!" Robin held up a stone, and turned it around a few times before tossing it aside. "He asked Misty to go to Equestria for the day instead of me!" She sat down and started picking rocks from the bottom of the pile, relying on gravity to keep them flowing down to her. Her head snapped up at a snort, and she glared at Rose. "What…?"
"Misty is kinda new around here. Don't you think she deserves to go back to where she comes from for a bit?" Rose lifted up a dark bit of rock. "Hey, check this one." She spat on it and rubbed it against her jeans.
"What is it?" Even Robin could see the shine of red light bouncing from the rock. "Is it a diamond?" She kept rummaging while she talked, wanting to find her own shiny gemstone.
"Diamonds are clear… at least the ones Dave showed me." Rose held the gem up high and let the sun shine through the perfectly cut facets. "Whatever it is, could be expensive. We should ask Dave when we're done."
"Who's this 'Dave'?" Robin began furiously digging through the rocks and dirt.
"Slow down, you need to feel each one." Passing Robin the gemstone she found, Rose let the younger girl feel it. "See how it's still crusty around the edges? You want to feel for that. Dirty, but smooth hard gem under it."
"Like this?" Robin held up her filthy hand and spat in it. Mixing her saliva around good, she saw the first glint of green in the gem. "Hey, this is a green one!"
"Emerald I think." Rose grinned. "So about your jerk brother. What type of music does he like?" Her grin turned sly.
Robin narrowed her eyes and glared right at Rosetta. "You like him!" Her accusation was confirmed by the blush that took up half of Rose's face. "You do! You like Mike!" Her voice took on a sing-song quality. "Rose and Mike, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G!"
"Shut up!" Rose tossed the emerald back to Robin. "He's just nicer than all the other boys in this town. Most are either too old for me, too young, or have too many legs."
"They all have cooties, you know. That really should be your first concern." Robin gave a self-confirming nod. "He isn't really that bad, for a boy." Her memory flashed up memories of the times Mike had stood up for her, or helped her do something without their mum finding out. She grabbed at some more stones to sort. "So what do you want to know?"
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Robin stood up and stretched, her belly giving a grumble as she did. "We're almost done!" She looked at the much-reduced pile of rocks. "Do you have anything for lunch?"
"Lunch? It's nearly four o'clock." Rosetta patted the bulging pockets on her jeans and then froze. "Oh cr—"
"There you are young lady!" Candela's voice was heavily laden with annoyance, and it made Robin cringe and slowly turn around. "Your mum has been worried sick about you."
Rosetta stood up. "I was keeping her out of—"
"Rosetta, I am sure Joyce will appreciate that, but I need to get this little filly back to her mother before Joyce pulls all her mane out in worry." It only took Candela's look of disappointment to completely cow any feelings of rebellion.
Robin walked along beside Candela, passing their house and crossing the main street to reach the end of the cricket game. It seemed like there was a storm cloud brewing that had nothing to do with the weather.
"Candela! You found her!" Joyce ran up to Robin and Candela, and Robin braced for the tirade she expected to come. Instead, her mother's arms wrapped around her and plucked her from the ground with ease. "You're okay… Oh thank god, you're alright…" Dirt and all, Robin was pulled into the tightest hug she had ever experienced.
Her mother crying startled Robin out of her shock, and drove home just how worried for her Joyce had been. Robin's own eyes filled with tears that she couldn't stop. "I'm sorry mummy!" She clung to her mother's neck.