Prim Hedges took great pride in her work. As groundskeeper of Crystal Prep Academy, she had every reason to. Yes, Abacus Cinch might have fallen victim to her own need for perfection, but a kinder, softer principal didn't mean that standards had to slip when it came to the school's appearance.
Such as, for example, scruffy hooligans loitering on school grounds. Prim narrowed her eyes as she deviated from her usual patrol route, approaching the hooligan in question with stealth belying the boots she wore for those frequent times when she needed to finish her underlings' jobs. "Can I help you, miss?" she said, unspoken hostility dripping off of every syllable.
The orange girl didn't turn around. She didn't even flinch. She just waved and said, "Nah, I'm just waiting for some friends."
Prim narrowed her gaze. Cadence had encouraged fraternization with students of lesser facilities. Still, that didn't mean anyone could just "hang out" at the Crystal Prep track with impunity. "And who would these friends be, exactly?"
The girl shrugged. "I don't remember the Crystal Prep girl's name." She shaded her eyes with a hand and looked at the sky. "You'd think that with all the arguing they're doing, Rainbow Dash could say it at least once."
Prim glanced up. She didn't see whatever the little pegasus aspect did.
She looked back and thought. Hmm. Little indeed. A sophmore at absolute most. "Do your parents know where you are, young lady?"
"Uh, how specific do you mean? FSA, Califoalnia, Crystal City, what? I mean, they're across the Harmonic, so—"
Prim scoffed. It was a fine scoff, honed through hundreds of dubious excuses presented by the unworthy. "A likely story. Where are they really?"
That finally got the girl to turn around. The miscreant shrugged. "Haven't checked in on them today, can't hurt." Her gaze went blank as her lightbow spread out behind her... though where most were as long as a person's arm span, hers barely went past her shoulders. "Well, Dad's snoring. Not surprising, time zone difference between here and Borneigho and all. Mom's up, and..." An admittedly sweet smile crossed her lips. "Aww. I don't know if she sensed me somehow or if she's just being a mom. Love you too."
"You really expect me to believe that little pantomime?" Prim began tapping her foot. This was usually the part where students started to tear up.
The girl just shook her head and frowned at her. She returned the look with a far more experienced one. To the little devil's credit, that didn't make her relent. "Well, my parents are Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood, so yeah, I think them helping with orangutan conservation is pretty believable."
"Pshaw. If they had a daughter, I'd think people would know."
"I literally have a Quickipedia article about me." The girl had the temerity to smile as she pulled out her phone. "That's not the only reason why I have a Quickipedia article, but it is one of them."
"Young lady, I have had—"
"I don't see you ever saving the world!"
Prim looked up. Two more girls, seniors if she was any judge, were coming in for a landing, though they seemed more intent on flying into one another judging by how they were pressed shoulder to shoulder.
"I'd like to see you spent five seconds where I've been and see how you come out," said one who she recognized as Indigo Zap.
The rainbow-haired one—Rainbow Dash, Prim supposed—smirked as she jabbed an elbow into Indigo's ribs. "Does your owner know you talk that big when she's not around?"
Indigo ascended a few feet, leaving Rainbow to stumble in midair. "You don't have the right to even think about her!"
The girl on the ground groaned. "They've been doing this since Indigo met Dash midflight."
Rainbow beamed. "Hey, there's our timekeeper!"
"And Ms. Hedges." Indigo gave her a nod. "They're with me."
Technically speaking, they had done nothing wrong. Still, there were appearances to keep up. "This is most irregular, Indigo Zap."
The still floating girl shrugged. "Kind of a spur of the moment thing."
"Well don't make a habit of it."
"Ms. Hedges? For the record." The orange girl held up her phone, letting Prim see a photo her arm in arm with a certain pair of famous conservationists.
Prim felt a chill go down her spine. "Yes. Well. My apologies. Good day." She spun on her heel and promptly resumed her overview of the grounds. If anyone asked, the altercation had never happened.
She heard Indigo speak behind her. "Yeah, Ms. Hedges is the groundskeeper here."
"Which is why she has a stick up her ass."
Prim gritted her teeth. That wouldn't have been nearly as infuriating if all three hadn't said it at once.