Pinkie Pie stood in front of the counter, nervously tapping her hoof against the wood board floor. Her mother was behind the counter stuffing books, pencils, and papers into some saddle bags. Her sister, Limestone, was there too, only she was standing near the front door with her saddle bags already strapped to her back, and she was getting impatient. Pinkie Pie noticed it too, and she was very nervous, not because Limestone was getting impatient, but because today was the first day of school.
"Mom, I'm not sure I'm feeling very well." Pinkie said timidly, as she was beginning to sweat bullets. Cloudy Quartz turned around to see her youngest daughter, shaking like a leaf on a windy day. Limestone was still standing near the opening of the bakery when she gave a long agitated sigh. In any other case, Limestone would have poked fun at the way Pinkie was acting, being afraid of something as simple as going to school, but Limestone was just not in the mood, she was more annoyed at the way her sister was behaving than anything else. Cloudy Quartz finished packing Pinkie's saddlebags, and then walked around the counter to strap them to her back.
"You'll be just fine Pinkamena, there's nothing to be afraid of." Cloudy Quartz said as she stroked Pinkie's straight mane.
"But Mom, I really don't feel well. I feel awful." Cloudy Quartz was beginning to feel worried, but she soon calmed down once she realized that Pinkie was just saying that so she could get out of going to school.
"That's just the butterflies in your stomach talking." Cloudy Quartz said with a cheerful smile, but it didn't appear to calm Pinkie very well.
"Listen Pinkamena, I know you're scared, but you must understand that this is for your own good. I want you and your sister to go to school and get a good education. Not only that, but you'll meet some new friends, doesn't that make you happy?"
"Yes...I suppose." Pinkie said as though she was unsure.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." And with that, she kissed her daughter on the forehead and sent Pinkie and Limestone on there way.
Pinkie kept her eyes to the ground as she and her sister walked beside each other on their way to school. They kept to themselves, because they both knew that one way or another, they would start arguing. In fact, Pinkie practically knew that, by not communicating with each other, they were able to be somewhat civil. This was usually how there relationship went, either they were so angry with each other that they would bicker and fight, or they would just stay silent and not say a word. Sometimes Limestone would not want to be silent, and that meant that she would want to bully Pinkie whether or not she would fight back. But today, Limestone was silent, and Pinkie was glad of that.
As they trotted down the dirt road that lead to the Ponyville Schoolhouse, they got to notice first hand the daily lives of all the ponies in the little village. There would be some ponies that would be rushing to get to someplace important, while there were others that would be just sitting on a bench relaxing. For being such a small village, it was certainly an interesting little place. So many different kinds of ponies, living with each other in complete harmony. Even though the Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasi Ponies had many different ways of living and thriving, they still came together and were able to live peacefully with one another. Pinkie envied them. How could ponies that are so different in so many ways, be able to put their differences aside and be friends, when Pinkie couldn't even be friends with her own sister who grew up in the same house as her? This question ran through Pinkie's mind, she was so frustrated that she couldn't find an answer. She was so lost in her own question that she didn't even hear Limestone talking at first.
"Didn't you hear me Stinkie Pie! I asked you a question." Limestone said staring at her youngest sister with disgust. But Pinkie responded with the same amount of disgust in her voice.
"What?"
"What do you think school will be like?" Limestone's voice was gentler now, and a little more serious. Pinkie was sort of surprised.
"What do I think? Honestly, I don't know what to think, I'm scared." Pinkie said in a timid voice, she wasn't expecting for Limestone to actually ask for her opinion.
"There's no reason to be scared, it's just school. It should be the same as Mom and Dad teaching us, only it won't be Mom and Dad." Limestone's voice started to get soft. "In fact, now that I think about it, I sort of miss the times they would teach to us. I remember that whenever Dad would teach us about History, he would try to change the story, saying that it 'wasn't the way he remembered it.'" Limestone let out a small chuckle, and then sighed. "I miss Dad."
Pinkie didn't really know what to say, she had never seen Limestone expressing her feelings before, it was sort of shocking.
"I'm sorry Limestone...I'm sure it must hurt, being separated from Dad and all." Pinkie then began to feel sorry for Limestone again, she was hoping that they could actually talk to each other and express how they felt. But those hopes went away when she heard her response.
"Whatever, what do you know about how I feel? You were never close to Dad, so don't you try to tell me how much it hurts!" Limestone said with the same disgust in her voice as before, only it sounded almost as though she was trying to hold back tears. Limestone stomped off ahead of her younger sister, and Pinkie followed slowly behind.
When they finally arrived outside of the Ponyville Schoolhouse, the big bell at the top was ringing, announcing that school was about to begin for the little fillies. When the ringing of the school bell finally ceased, all the fillies were seated, awaiting for their teacher. A young mare, with small glasses, walked into the classroom. She was an Earth Pony who had three flowers for a cutie mark. She had her mane rolled up into a bun and she greeted the children with a welcoming smile as she sat at her desk.
"Alright everypony, today is a special day because we will be talking about-" She was saying before she noticed Limestone and Pinkie walk timidly into the classroom. The teacher adjusted her glasses as she looked at them.
"Well, it appears that we have two new students," She rose from her desk and walked over to them. "Who might you young ladies be?" There was a short pause before Limestone decided to be the one to answer the question.
"I'm Limestone Pie, and this is Pinkie Pie, we just moved into the village." Limestone said awkwardly.
"Oh, you two wouldn't happened to be the daughters of the mare that bought the old bakery, are you?"
"Uh...yes...we are." Pinkie said, finally managing to force something out of her mouth.
"Oh! Well you two are going to love it here! Ponyville is a wonderful place, you know. Now please, won't you join us in class?" The young mare said as she walked back to her desk.
"That's kinda the reason we came here." Limestone said under her breath, in her usual bitter tone. She took a seat at the front, while Pinkie took a seat in the back. The young mare then began to start her lesson, but Pinkie wasn't really paying attention. The lesson was about cutie marks and Mom and Dad had already taught Pinkie Pie all about those and what they meant, so Pinkie didn't really want to hear it all a second time. Her eyes began to wander as she studied her classmates. There were some Unicorn and Pegasus fillies, but most of them were Earth ponies. She looked at the filly who was seated right next to her, she was an Earth Pony. She had a long blonde mane that was all ruffled up, her coat was orange and she had freckles on her face. She had three apples for her cutie mark. The young filly saw Pinkie looking at her and she spoke.
"Howdy." The young filly whispered, trying not to be heard by the Teacher.
"Hi..." Pinkie said trying to put a smile on her face.
"You're the new girl, right?" The young filly whispered with a big smile across her face.
"Yeah..."
"My name's Applejack, what's yours?"
"I'm Pinkie Pie. I just moved into the village."
"Yeah, I heard. Nice to meet ya." Applejack almost reached over to shake Pinkie's hoof, but she stopped, realizing that it might catch the Teacher's attention. "So ya just movin' in huh Sugarcube?" Applejack said still whispering.
"Yeah, me and my sister, Limestone, came from a rock farm. My Mom bought this old bakery and she wants us to become bakers and start a new life here in Ponyvi-" Pinkie Pie was suddenly cut off by the Teacher's voice.
"Pinkie Pie! Please stop talking, I know you want to make new friends, but please pay attention to the lesson." The whole class giggled. Pinkie started to blush.
"I'm sorry..." Pinkie said back in her timid tone of voice. The Teacher then began to resume her lesson, when Applejack leaned over and whispered.
"Don't worry, we'll talk later." Pinkie was surprised when she found herself chatting with this new filly, Applejack. It felt very nice, being able to talk to somepony who was interested in what you wanted to say. Unlike with your sister who tried to downgrade you every time you opened your mouth. She wasn't used to such kindness.
After class was over, the fillies were let out of the schoolhouse. Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked with each other chatting. Pinkie Pie told Applejack about how she was raised on a rock farm, and the difficult relationships that she had with her father and sister. She also told her about how she came to move to her new home in Ponyville.
"I'm mighty sorry to hear about that Sugarcube. Trust me, I know what it's like to deal with siblings."
"You do?" Pinkie asked, curiously.
"You betcha! In fact, me and my big brother got into a little spat the other day about who's turn it was to buck the apple trees in the South field." After saying this Applejack let out a small laugh.
"Well, I just wish that me and Limestone could just get along with each other, instead of fighting all the time." Pinkie Pie said as she let out a deep sigh, nudging the ground with her hoof.
"Hey now, don't worry about it Sugarcube, things will come around, I promise." Applejack said as she gave Pinkie Pie a comforting hug. In that moment, Pinkie felt happy, which was a feeling that she had long forgotten about.
"Well, I better go. Gotta get back to the farm or else my Granny Smith will ream me out. I'll see ya later!" Applejack said as she raced off in the other direction until she was out of sight. Pinkie stood there for a while feeling something that she had almost forgotten about: happiness. Pinkie was glad, she found a friend. A real friend. For the first time in a long time, Pinkie let out a smile.