Camaraderie at 303 Castell Street

Pencil Point yawned, sitting in her room. She'd just finished an entire stack of papers, trying to come up with a new idea for her upcoming artwork. An Art show was coming to town soon, and she needed something new and fresh to present.

"Too abstract... Too dull... Too eye-blinding..." She muttered, going through the pile again, trying to find SOMETHING interesting. Nothing inspiring. Nothing at all. The wheat-colored filly sighed, standing up. Maybe a little snack would make her mind reel again.

Pencil trotted out of her room, passing her parents' bedroom and heading down the stairs. With each step down, she could hear the sound of her parents yelling from the living room.

'THE ORDER IS ALREADY LATE!'

'Well, IF YOU HADN'T BURNED THE PAPERS WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO RUSH!'

She sighed, ignoring their quarreling. She crept through the living room, hiding behind the couch and rolling across the floor towards the kitchen. She wasn't much of a ninja-loving pony, but it was certainly fun to do that once in a while. She walked to the fridge, opening it and being greeted by the cool, refreshing air.

"Alright belly, let's see what we've got in store for us..." She said to no one in particular, rummaging through the fridge in search for something sugary.

DING DONG!

Pencil Point nearly bumped her head in the fridge, being alerted by the loud bell of their door. Why in Equestria did her parents had to have chosen such an obnoxiously loud ring? She sighed, taking her head out of the fridge. Looks like snack time will have to wait for now.

"I'll get it!" She yelled, directing it to her parents. They silenced for a moment, before returning to their previous argument. She felt a bit offended by their ignorance, but she didn't dwell on it for long. Parents will be parents.

She trotted over to the door, turning the knob with her magic and swinging it open. "Hello-" To her surprise, she wasn't even able to finish her greeting before being pelted by mud and gunk. The pile of trash gushed into the clean interior of the house, successfully covering the entrance hallway.

Pencil Point took a few minutes, but was successfully able to poke her head out of the massive pile of mud. She gasped for breath, only to end up gagging at the disgusting stench. Sweet mother of Celestia, this smelled worse than her father's month-old shoes!

Pencil Point successfully pulled herself out of the rubbish pile, smelling as if she'd slept in dead rats. Her ears perked up at the sound of a loud thump! outside. She frowned, trotting out of her now-filthy door. Outside, she saw a filly rolling around on the ground, laughing her gut out.

"Oh, Oh Celestia! You should've seen your face!"

Pencil was about to retort, but then realized it was just a prank. Pushing her frustration aside, she looked at the funny side of the situation. She stared at her hooves, seeing them covered in filth, then stared at what was once a white door. She began to laugh.

"Hahahaha! Nice one." She chortled, finding it humorous. She hadn't been pranked in a while, let alone at her own house. To top it off, there was a filly rolling on the street, laughing her gut off even as she had fallen out of a tree.

"My name's Peppermint Winter!"

"Nice to meet'cha, Peppermint Winter. I'm Pencil Point, but you can call me Pencil." She said, shaking the other filly's hoof. She seemed like a funny filly. A new friend! It made the wheat-colored filly smile. She hadn't met that many fillies on their street yet.

"And... Well, I'm sorry about your door. I can help you clean if you'd like!" Pencil looked at the door, then used her hoof to push it open. There, a huge pile of garbage crowded the entrance hall. Pencil laughed.

"With this mess, I could sure use some help!" She said, but then stopped, her ears picking up her parents' arguing, even from the distance between the living room and the front door. "...On second thought, how about you keep my parents busy while I clean up? They'll definitely try to investigate all the cleaning ruckus once they stop arguing. As doubtful as I am about that, a pony can never be too sure. So, mind pulling a few more of those pranks?" She asked, turning her attention to the other filly.

"You... Want ME... To PRANK someone?"

"Um... Yes?" Pencil felt a bit uncomfortable at the sudden gestures, but she guessed it was just from the filly's astonishment. She hoped Peppermint wouldn't turn her down. If her parents found out about the mess, she'd be in really, really, really big trouble. It doesn't help that they were already enraged by their argument.

"YIPPEEE!!! It'd be an HONOR! I just need to get some supplies and I'll be right back!"

Pencil watched as Peppermint disappeared, galloping off to a corner. She waited a few minutes, unsure of what to feel about the filly's odd abundance of enthusiasm. Oh well, it just means the day will be much more interesting with her around.

"Let's see... Fake bugs, Mini speakers, balloons, marbles, flour... perfect!"

The unicorn filly was surprised at how quickly the prankster got her materials. She shook it off, continuing with the plan. "So, just keep my parents busy with a few pranks while I clean up, okay? The windows, the back door, are all unlocked at the moment. You can sneak in, set up, and sneak out to watch your pranks unfold. Just make sure they don't come to the entrance hallway or the kitchen, okay?" Pencil explained, "Oh, and be sure not to break too many things."

And with that, the filly head back inside, still covered in gunk. She got to the kitchen, levitating a garbage bag from one of the cupboards. After some rummaging in the broom closet, she finally found a rusty old shovel, stowed away and forgotten. Pencil got to work, shoveling the garbage into the garbage bags she'd gotten. It was going to take a while, but it would be worth it if it meant getting her parents to stop fighting and laugh. Pranks were supposed to make ponies laugh, after all, and Peppermint seemed like a really good prankster.