|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:42 am
 Star Spangled tried to imitate her father. She bent forward, ball in her hooves, and stared her rival right in the eyes. She narrowed them, like she'd seen Daddy do a million times before. She hoped she looked Super Intimidating. She knew her opponent was a really good batter, and that her cutter wasn't quite as good as she wanted it to be.
She wound up and threw the pitch anyway. After all, this was just a backyard game. What's the worst that could happen?
As soon as the ball left her hooves, she stomped her back hooves. Crap! She'd left it right in the middle!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:46 am
Sandlot Bambino was all set to go. His sparkling eyes connected with his sister's and he gave her a wink. No one could wipe the smug look from his face. He was exuding a massive amount of confidence. They were rivals of course, in and out of game, but now he was at bat and was tingling with confidence.
When his dear sister threw the ball Bambino's eyes were on it. It was like he was a whole different phony when it was time to bat. His eyes narrowed and he almost looked serious. He tightened his stance, focused, and hit the ball just at the right moment.
HA! Star threw it right to him! The loud crack when his bat connected with the ball was music to his ears. But...not the sound of glass breaking. Bambino's confidence vanished in the blink of an eye and he was left staring, mouth a jar, at the broken window across the way. They definitely had not taken windows into account when playing ball...never had he hit it so far before! Wow! That was really good! But...not the busted window.
Should they run? Should they act dumb? Was anyone coming out to check? Bambino looked over to Star as if she would have all the answers. "Uh...w-whelp...huh."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:13 am
Star's mane puffed up as she got ready for the inevitable rain of trash-talking and Bambino's self-congratulations (and most likely that really super annoying dance he did when he hit a home run... GRR!!!!!) ... but no such jubilation occurred.
Instead, there was the sound of glass getting smashed into smithereens. Star gulped as she turned, flapping her wings once. Her eyes rounded.
"Ohhhhhh boy..." she said with a gulp.
It was Miss Grumpythorn's house they'd hit.
Immediately, panic began to set in.
"Er... uhm... er...." Star looked over at Bambino. Maybe they should just run?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:54 am
Bambino flew over to his sister's side and continued to stare in fear and amazement at the hole he had left. "So uh...any ideas, Star? As amazing as that was I um...did not mean to do that."
He felt a wave of panic set in. Miss Grumpythorn didn't get that nickname because she was a pleasant old phony. She didn't like kiddos, probably for good reason by the looks of it, and to have hit her house did not bode well for them. But the old unicorn had yet to gallop out and give them a screaming.
"Maybe she's not home?" Bambino asked with a whisper. He wanted to be very quiet just to be sure. If the old bat wasn't around they could totally run! But...something about fleeing didn't sit well with the scamp. As good as it was to protect their rears, it wasn't right.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 2:49 pm
For a moment, Star could only stare at the window. Bambino came beside her and she had to fight down her desire to shove him away and go flying off to save herself. The feeling only got worse as suddenly a shrill scream ripped through the air, coming from Miss Grumpythorn's house.
"Do I have any ideas?" Star said with a gulp. "N-n-no way! You did this one!"
Well, no, that wouldn't do. She HAD thrown the pitch, after all... and she couldn't leave Bambino alone to face that awful lady's wrath!
She shuffled her hooves. "B-but I guess I also kind of maybe had a hoof in it..."
Miss Grumpythorn's old, wrinkled face appeared in the broken window. She looked left and right and then down at the duo, and her grey face went absolutely fuchsia with fury.
"YOU!!!!!!!!!" She screeched.
Star froze. "We--- we were just coming to apologize!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 4:46 pm
Bambino balked at her response. She wasn't just gonna leave him was she?! "Don't you dare leave me alone to face this!" The colt hissed. Poor little guy had gone absolutely rigid with fright. He was trying to piece together exactly what they should do when a terrible screech broke their nervous jitters.
She was like Bloody Mary appearing in the mirror. Old Miss Grumpythorn looked absolutely furious and there was no shield to hide behind. Her eyes were wide and glaring down at them.
Bambino gulped and stepped in front of Star to prevent any curses the witch might throw at them from hitting her. "W-We're sorry Miss Grumpythorn. W-We were playing ball and I..." He swallowed down the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. "I hit it through your window. I-I'm so sorry." He hung his head and bit his lower lip. If they planned on flying away he would of been left behind. His legs were glued to the ground and wouldn't stop trembling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 6:49 pm
More than anything, Star wanted to bolt. She wanted to zoom up into their spacious, lovely, wonderful place, find a few lovely pillows, construct a fort, and then hide in it until her parents could come home and take care of Bambino and Miss Grumpythorn. But, taking a glance to her side, she noticed that Bambino seemed like he was absolutely made of stone. She couldn't just leave her brother! Even if he was a pain sometimes.
"I -- I uhm -- We're so sorry, we promise we'll pay for it!"
Miss Grumpythorn didn't look impressed.
"Of course you'll pay for it," she sneered. "I'll SEE to it that you pay for it! And don't you think you can get away without coming here and cleaning up all this glass! You'll be doing my yardwork until you both have rakes for cutie marks!"
Star gulped. "Y-y-yes, of course, Miss Grumpythorn! We will!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:46 pm
Bambino gulped and looked between Star and the old mare. It was his fault that the ball went through the window, not his sister's. He was just too good of a batter.
"I-It..." He grimaced at the fear that dripped from his voice. The young colt took a deep breath, glanced at his sister one last time, and looked back at Mrs.Grumpythorn, "It wasn't my sister's fault. I was the one who hit the ball and I'm the one who should clean this mess up. My sister wasn't a part of it at all."
It wasn't worth it if they both got in trouble and besides, Star was just pitching the ball. If he hadn't been teasing her so much this morning about being a better ballplayer this never would of happened. His big mouth once again got them into a sticky situation...typical.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 7:59 pm
Miss Grumpythorn narrowed her eyes. "Don't you think your good-sibling schtick will get you out of this. I'm certainly not cleaning this mess up. Now one or both of you get over here this instant or I will call your parents!
Star smiled at Bambino. He'd stuck up for her! Even though she knew how much he hated to be punished, especially ALONE. "We'll do it, ma'am!"
She unfurled her wings and floated up to the window. They'd do it together!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:16 pm
Bambino stared wide-eyed at Star as she leapt forward and volunteered them. The two of them! He had given her an out and instead she decided to stay with them. They were going to tough it out together. What a sister! He was lucky to have her at his side. The lad shook his head and laughed, "Yeah, we'll just do an awesome job together! Don't you worry, cranky-I mean uh- ma'am!"
The colt zoomed off and returned with cleaning supplies. He fluttered about with a broom, spilt a pair of gloves with Star, and shifted through the yard to find every last bit of glass for the garbage can. At the end of a few hours they had done it! Everything was in shape except for the missing glass in the window.
"Hm...uh...what do you think we should do about that?" Bambino asked as he stared at the empty windowsill. It's not like they had the money to pay for it and it probably wasn't a good idea to tell Mom and Pops about it...looks like they weren't out of trouble yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:32 pm
As Star worked diligently throughout those few hours, trying hard to keep any shards of glass from cutting her, dusting and vacuuming Miss Grumpythorn's stable, she couldn't help but feel warm inside. She was proud of herself and her brother. They COULD have just run, could have just had Miss Grumpythorn deal with their parents, could have just watched Mama cut her neighbour a check with a roll of her eyes and a big fat sigh.
But this way was nicer. Mama and Daddy -- well, they wouldn't be proud of their performance, but they definitely wouldn't mind the aftermath! They'd done right by each other, and that was the important thing.
Miss Grumpythorn spent the entire time tapping her hoof and checking up on the kids' work. She didn't, to her annoyance, find too much to nitpick about.
But finally, she sneered at the open window. Star and Bambino were taping a big piece of plastic over it, but it wasn't GLASS. Like her OLD window.
"You tell your parents to come over here with the contractor! I won't be cheated out of a new window!" she groused.
"Yes, Miss Grumpythorn," said Star. "We promise!"
And that promise, Star knew, meant something.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 8:53 pm
Star wasn't the only one brimming with pride at their little accomplishment. Even Bambino, who normally would be moaning and groaning over all this work, had a skip in his step. The two siblings not only calmed the old witch down, they had worked together and stuck by each other's side even in the face of terror. If the two of them could handle this, they could handle anything! Nothing could stop them!
Well...possibly Pops and Mama when they see the mess they made BUT after a few weeks of being grounded then he and Star could take on the world!
"Cross our hearts! You can count on the Shoot the Moon kids! Now uh, we really should be going and ya know, letting the folks know. They'll be here soon!" Bambino grinned roguishly at Miss Grumpythorn as if that would win them some kind of points. He then grabbed a hold of Star and tugged her up, up, and away.
As they flew back to their fortress, Bambino reached over and gave his sis a hug without knocking them out of the sky, "Thanks Star for sticking by me. You're the best sister a brother could ask for. And ya know...I think we make a pretty good team. I was thinking, maybe if we can't play ball outside without breaking anything, we can convince Mama to let us play inside? If we give her puppy eyes and come up with some kind of good talk I bet we could win that too!"
Ah yes, they were definitely the perfect sibling pair.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
