Product of Friendship (My Little Pony)

14 Smolder's Revenge (3/3)

Hop stepped out of his luxurious carriage of crimson and gold. His driver gave a bow as Hop proceeded through silver gates into his home.

His lawn was vast with shrubberies and plants that could contest the gardens of Canterlot Castle. Only the most exotic plants were worthy to prosper in his land. He hired a group of gardeners to tend to its growth, expecting them to be polished like genes.

Hop then entered his mansion, standing five stories tall. It was made with smooth slabs and ornamented with the finest furnishing money could buy. It was also serviced by the most disciplined maids and butlers Hop could find in Abyssinia.

Hop had secured a home many could only dream of. But none was finer than his family.

Lines of maids and butlers standing patiently for Hop's command greeted him. One maid came to Pixie's side to collect his trench coat as he asked, "Where are Mandy and Pixie?"

"In Miss Pixie's bedroom," the maid answered. "Mrs. Mandy is reviewing Miss Pixie's lessons from school today."

"Thank you," Hop said. "You are all excused from your tasks."

Hop entered the left-wing of his mansion and approached a door decorated with random ornaments of flowers and drawings. He leaned his head into the door and listened in for the voices inside.

"I want to meet all the ponies and dragons, mom," Hop heard his daughter.

"And I think it's a wonderful idea," he heard his wife, Mandy. "But we should talk over this more when your father comes back, okay?"

"You think daddy won't let me? But I want to go!"

Hop sighed and then opened the door, finding his wife and daughter seated before a desk. "Did someone call my name?" Hop asked.

"Daddy!" Pixie cheered. She leaped off from her chair and jumped into Hop's grasp to give a hug.

"How's my favorite wildflower?" Hop asked. "There aren't any tomcats I have to make disappear, do I?"

"Cats can't disappear, dad," Pixie giggled.

Mandy raised from her seat and joined Hop's side to kiss his cheek. "When did you get back?" She asked.

"Just now," Hop responded. "Now, what is it I'm hearing about you wanting to meet ponies and dragons, Pixie?"

"I want to go to the school of friendship," Pixie answered. "It's supposed to have creatures from all over the world, right?"

"Maybe all but Abyssinians," Hop corrected. "The school system is more than enough for our kind."

"But all I ever meet are other Abyssinians," Pixie complained. "I want to meet other kinds of creatures like Wist."

Hop blinked at the mention of Wist's name. He felt a sudden prick somewhere in his being that age him pause.

"I wish big sis didn't leave us," Pixie said solemnly. "Why would she leave and not even tell us? We're supposed to be BSFL (best sisters for life)."

"Of course, you two are, Pixie," Mandy assured Pixie and groomed her daughter's ivory hair. "Wist just had to go out into the world to expand her horizons. There's only so much she could do here as a witch."

Mandy and Pixie knew Wist to be a whimsical soul that Hop had befriended long ago. He and Wist were a duo that tackled a shaky path to rise to the top in Abyssinia. There were many things he and Wist did that he could never share with his family. It was essential to happiness and reputation that kept them deep in the underworld where it belonged.

Hop rubbed Pixie's cheek with a thumb. "Pixie," Hop started. "Are you sure you're fine with leaving your mother and daddy all on their lonesome? It wouldn't be the same without you here?"

"But aren't we rich?" Pixie asked. "We could arrange a first-class express to go anywhere in the world in a day with our kind of wealth, right?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too smart for your own good," Hop said and then rubbed her fangs across Pixie's neck, tickling her.

"I think we can make it work," Mandy said. "Besides, it's been quite some time since we've had the mansion to ourselves, wouldn't you agree?"

Hop perked at the bedroom eyes Mandy was giving her. His tail waggled wildly at the delicious possibilities they could share. "Well," Hop began with a cough. "It would be beneficial for Pixie to know more about the world. I can't keep her sheltered in this castle forever."

"Yes!" Pixie cheered. "And who knows, I might even find Wist along the way."

"I don't know about that," Hop chuckled. "You know Wist is not friendly to new folks. In fact, with that country's lofty culture about friendship, I seriously doubt she would ever walk her hooves in there."