Ms. Muffin's Weird Misadventure
Chapter 1 - The Clueless Piggle
An anxious oink preceded the swift dance of the paintbrush on paper as the magical paint blanketed the page in many colors. Roads were drawn with utmost accuracy, slithering around buildings and flanking a single lake which occupied a small portion of the entire map. Soon afterwards the map expanded as the artist moved on to draw tents of many colors on the left, a large, bright green crown of leaves at the top, and white sturdy walls to encircle the entire area. Tiny doodles appeared in mere minutes at the borders of the paper, populating its empty, boring space with images of tiny wizards having fun, and portraits of important people were perfectly placed where one could most easily find them.
It was with a squeal of delight that the artist's tiny hooves fumbled with a quill to write down the names of important streets and places. She wasn't worried, even though the task hadn't been easy, she was confident in her ability to end it in time.
And what a perfect map she had drawn! It certainly deserved full marks!
"The map is accurate, but the doodles weren't necessary at all. Overall it is way too cartoonish to be a professional map." The one to strike down the artist's masterpiece was none other than the examiner, Milo Barker. Wrapped in his red suit not much unlike a rather big Christmas present, he sat behind his desk, giving instant critiques on every examinee's work.
"Squeeee! But… but…" The artist, or rather, Ms. Muffin, PET student, and infamous class airhead, unsuccessfully tried to fish for the right words to reply. Tiny hooves almost dug in the desk as her tiny wings struggled to keep her heavy body afloat. Her large, pink piglet nose gasping for air just under her blinking black eyes.
"No buts, my judgement is final. Here at the PET Pavilion, we graduate the best of the best, and as such we are very strict in grading papers. Despite your shortcomings, you passed, although barely. Please, Ms. Muffin, avoid causing a scene like yesterday…" As Milo Barker spoke, Ms. Muffin found herself distracted by the PET manager's black top hat. She had to give it to the guy, despite his exaggerated gestures with his body whenever he spoke, the hat stayed secured at the top of his golden, furry, dog-head like a particularly stubborn mussel upon its favorite rock.
"Uh… sir. do you use glue to keep it from falling?" She blurted out, interrupting what seemed to be the start of a long and boring lecture on the ideals of the PET program.
"Glue?" Milo Barker asked, taken aback by the sudden question.
"Nevermind… I bet Shadow would say it's an inappropriate question," she mumbled just instants before her wings gave in with a last half-hearted flap of protest. She fell to the ground with a loud thud, back aching in pain as muffled giggles rose from the back of the room.
"Everything okay, Ms. Muffin?" Milo Barker stood up abruptly to investigate what had transpired.
Ms. Muffin wasn't hurt if anything mildly annoyed by how her wings didn't seem to be strong enough to do their job. "... 'ts okay. Just a little mishap."
"You are anything but little, sweetie~," A melodious voice said. Ms. Muffin knew who the voice belonged to even without turning around. A pink plushie unicorn was looking at the scene with amusement from her small desk. Her incomplete drawing of a map detailing Triton Avenue unfinished before her.
The piglet smiled nervously at the joke: Pinkie had always been one to make everyone laugh with them, though Ms. Muffin had a bit of trouble finding them funny. Regardless, the entire class, consisting of various kinds of creatures ranging from miniature Forest Lords and Blazefoxes to ghosts and Rats, snickered at the comment.
"Enough, focus on your test," Milo barked, managing to silence everyone in an instant. "And Ms. Muffin… If you aren't hurt, it would be for the best for you to head outside, here are your results."
"Aye, aye, Sir!" Ms. Muffin got to her hooves and replied to the PET Pavilion manager like a wobbly soldier. She took the paper in a hurry and made her way out of the through a corridor, she found the first staircase and stumbling her way down she reached a small door. Upon opening it up, the PET Pavilion appeared in front of her eyes in all its glory.
It was a large outside area where wizards and their PETs strengthened their bonds. Several training facilities were located there, including an obstacle course to train agility, and a large maze to test the PET's sense of direction and resourcefulness. The large building Ms. Muffin had just come out of was used for many things, such as the theoretical lessons like Mapping 101, and Fundamentals of May Casting, though it was mostly known as the hatchery. It was quite imposing, rising even taller than the sturdy layers of stone walls encircling Wizard City. Even though she saw it every day, the piglet still found herself staring for a few seconds. She had almost reached her dream… she still couldn't believe it...
PET: Professional Exemplary Teammate. Being one of them had been her dream ever since she hatched from her egg! They were the best! Professional figures born after the utter failure of the team up function: they provided all the possible help to wizards, supporting them in their adventures with their wide range of abilities.
Becoming one wasn't easy though, requiring a good dose of raw talent and lots of training. Ms. Muffin didn't really have the raw talent… but she really did put in the hard work, and once she passed the final tests she was sure that…
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by a soft growl. "Grrr… Muffin…"
" Heya, Shadow! Didn't see you there," Ms. Muffin said raising her hoof in greeting.
Next to her, stood a small dragon. Black shiny scales covered his body like a black knight's armor, sharp golden claws stabbed the ground, and bat-like wings stretched wide in intimidation. "Food…"
"Oh, Are you hungry? I've got some apple pie back at-"
" Apple… Pie…" The dragon mumbled folding his wings and approaching the piglet. His forked tongue tasted the air in anticipation as he crept closer to his target.
"Yep, there is apple pie, huckleberry pie, and even a surprise pie! They are all from my failed cooking 101 specialization test."
The dragon hissed in alarm and backed away, vigorously shaking his head as if his life depended on it. "Your… Pies… Poisonous."
"Nah, just a tad bit too sweet. The worst that can happen might be puking rainbows, but don't worry, the teacher that ate them is still alive and well!"
"That was… why teacher… at the hospital... yesterday?"
"I guess so, even though he liked it she still gave me zero. He is just denying my genius! And they say gobblers eat everything."
"I see… forget… pies… I… eat you…" Before Shadow could act upon his words, the door to the hatchery opened once again and a swarm of PET students streamed out. Many passed Ms. Muffin and Shadow without noticing them, commenting on their grades and difficulties during the test, while others limited themselves to short glances and giggles.
Only one went out of her way to talk to the piglet, zigzagging through the crowd with the grace which belonged to her species. A few adoring eyes lingered on the plushie unicorn, the model of the perfect PET student in both looks and smarts. "Good job out there, Fatty. You actually passed one test!"
"Thank you, Pinkie! Your support means a lot to me," Ms. Muffin replied with a smile.
Pinkie's eye twitched slightly at the piglet's response but continued to talk with a smile. "Of course… but what about the next test? Isn't it practical? What will you do with those… useless wings of yours?"
"Eh… maybe I'll roll. Someone pushed me down a few flights of stairs yesterday, and I was pretty fast at rolling down!"
"If you say so, Fatty, Just remember that there is no shame in being too mediocre to be a PET… Talents and stats, you're born with them~" The melodious voice of the plushie unicorn lingered slightly in the air. For some reason, this seemed to have upset Shadow, who replied to the statement with a low growl.
"Aye, aye, got it. I'll keep that in mind, Pinkie! Thank you for the advice!"
Pinkie's eye twitched again, and Ms. Muffin couldn't help but ask herself if she had some kind of eyesight problem. Was Pinkie perhaps nervous for her test?
"I'll leave you be, Fatty… otherwise, I fear your black knight is going to bite me. Farewell~"
"See ya, Pinkie!" Ms. Muffin waved the plushie unicorn goodbye while waving her hoof enthusiastically in the air. She was very lucky to have a such a great friend like Pinkie.
Shadow, on the other hand, wasn't happy. "Muffin… How can you be so clueless?! That…urgh… she just wants you to fail! She even pushed you down the stairs yesterday!"
Ms. Muffin stared at him in disbelief, eyes widening in surprise. She then pointed to Shadow and exclaimed, "You just broke character!"
"Muffin, this is way more important than a drama assignment!" Shadow rebuked with even more insistence. His sharp claws were now gently placed atop Ms. Muffin's shoulders in a desperate attempt at shaking awake any probable residue of common sense sleeping inside her head.
"Ehh? But your drama assignment is pretty important too. The wizard that you'll be working with… Doesn't he want you to be edgy like him?"
"Wolf saved the Spiral from destruction Muffin… he isn't edgy."
"Oh, his name is Wolf Shadowmancer, now I remember! He's the rich guy living in that Darkmoor manor place with shadow spectres… didn't he also write a weird invented autobiography about his tragic past and chose your name after you hatched?"
"Okay, okay, he is… yes… admittedly… maybe… a bit edgy. A bit… but that's not the point." Shadow's indecision gave away a tint of awkwardness that resurfaced whenever Ms. Muffin talked about his future master. It wasn't like she meant any harm teasing her friend, but she sure did enjoy Shadow's reactions.
"It isn't?"
"No, the point is that you are not taking this seriously. Pinkie is straight up an evil mastermind and wants you to fail. We have to do something about it."
"Invite her for lunch?" Ms. Muffin asked tentatively, tilting her head. "We could become best friends!"
"You know, let's scrap that and focus on you not failing," Shadow said, words leaving place to a long, tired sigh. "How much did you get in Mapping 101? Drawing is your strong point, isn't it?"
Only when Shadow asked about it did Ms. Muffin remember that she still held the paper under her armpit. With a bit of fumbling, she presented it to Shadow with a smirk. "I passed!"
"Oh, for all the Olympian Immortals…. You barely passed!" Shadow eyed the grade with a mix of mild disgust and terror, almost as if the paper itself could jump and suffocate him to death. "Muffin… Your average is terrible… you need full points in the practical exam for you to pass!"
"Oh, it'll be a piece of cake," Muffin shrugged the worries off, a flawless plan forming into her head.
"Muffin… rolling doesn't increase your speed on flat surfaces…"
When she heard Shadow's statement Muffin's eyes opened wide with wild unrestrained terror. "By Lady Nightstar, you are right! Help me Shaaadooowwww! I'm gonna fail, haaaaalp!" And thus it was her turn to shake the dragon and plea for help.
It wasn't long before Shadow gave in, whispering to his friend in a hushed tone, "Muffin… what do you know about mega snacks?"