Dewdrop Dazzle Chapter Expansion · 4:49am May 16th, 2023
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/2450260
When this chapter was originally posted, it was much shorter, and primarily focused on Dewey's interactions with Snowcatcher. Dewdrop's large family was introduced in Snowcatcher's chapter. For the expansion, I wanted to actually shine the spotlight on Dewdrop and her family. We see a bit more of Snowcatcher, too, since their stories are so intertwined.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/2882700
As noted previously, I'm still working on expanding the earlier chapters (as well as the next chapter, of course), but the good news is I've embiggened eight of the earlier chapters of 16. You have the option of going back and rereading each of the chapters individually, but I'm posting the newly added scenes in separate blog posts for each of the characters. There's too much to do a single blog post. Way too much. Several of these ponies have had more than 5,000 words added to their respective chapters.
This is completely optional reading. No major plot points are revealed in any of these scenes. No retcons!
Much like when I was posting the character interviews, I'll space these out so as not to overwhelm everyone at once.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/2935690
Chapter status:
Cherry Pie: Currently in progress
Daisy Dreams: No recent changes; will be expanded
Dewdrop Dazzle: You're here.
Diamond Rose: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/990898/diamond-rose-chapter-expansion
Feathermay: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/993541/feathermay-chapter-expansion
Flitterheart: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/996030/flitterheart-chapter-expansion
Honeybuzz: No recent changes; will be expanded
Lily Blossom: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/999575/lily-blossom-chapter-expansion
Lulu Luck: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1007071/lulu-luck-chapter-expansion
Ploomette: No expansions planned
Plumsweet: Expanded, blog post coming soon
Rainbow Flash: Expanded, blog post coming soon
Snowcatcher: No expansions planned
Starbeam Twinkle: No expansions planned
Sunny Rays: No expansions planned
Sweetie Swirl: No expansions planned
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/779016
Whinnyapolis: sixteen years, zero months, and thirty days ago
According to Mommy, the first snowfall of the year was always a big deal in Whinnyapolis. She’d bundled me up in a heavy winter coat, boots, and a scarf Nana had crocheted for my birthday. I rode on her back to the big hill outside town.
I stood at the base of the hill watching ponies skiing and sledding. That looks like fun! But Mommy hadn’t brought a sled with us, so all I could do was watch. Maybe I can build a snowmare with some of the other fillies.
I heard a whooshing sound and looked up – a sled was heading right for me. I squeezed my eyes shut and flattened to the ground in anticipation of the crash. Soon I was airborne, wondering why getting hit by a speeding sled didn’t hurt.
I cautiously opened my eyes and saw the filly on the sled was levitating me. The sled gradually lost momentum and we slid to a stop. I looked down at the filly who was levitating me – she was about my age and already strong enough to levitate somepony her own size. That’s impressive! My own horn barely sparked whenever I tried to do magic. Even though we’d come to a stop the other unicorn was still floating me in her magic. “Are you gonna put me down, now? Please?”
“Huh?”
“Put me down!”
“I don’t know how!”
She looked left, and I turned with her. Then she looked right and I went with her again. She looked up and I went higher. Not helping. Then she looked down and I crashed into the powdery snow. I poked my head up and saw her bounding towards me.
She apologized as she helped me out of the snow. “I’m sorry! I don’t know how I did that! I’ve never lifted anything before!” She held up a hoof to bump. “I’m Snowcatcher, but you can call me Snowy.”
“Dewdrop Dazzle.” I shook myself out as best I could. “But you can call me Dewey.”
“Nice to meet you!” She curtseyed, and I tried to do the same but slipped, falling muzzle first into the same snowbank I’d just been pulled out of. She bit onto my tail and tugged me out for the second time. “Wanna come sledding with me?” she asked.
“Sure!” She’s lucky she has a sled!
I helped her pull the sled up the hill and she showed me the proper way to ride on the sled so I wouldn’t fall off. Since I was behind her, I kicked off and down the hill we sped. It was fun, and we zipped down the hill. Everything was going good until the trees appeared in front of us. I told Snowy to steer left, but she didn’t know how. We both leaned to that side and fell off the sled entirely. Snowy skidded to a stop and I tumbled into her. I had no idea where her sled got to.
I stood up, dusting snow off my coat yet again. Snowy checked to see if I was okay, retrieved the sled, and invited me to go again. I didn’t even hesitate. I wanted to keep sledding and between the two of us we’d figure out how to steer it eventually.
“Besties?” she asked.
“Besties,” I replied, tugging on the sleigh to drag it back up the hill.
Whinnyapolis: thirteen years, eleven months, and twenty-six days ago
I sat in the waiting room, tapping my hoof restlessly. The place reminded me of my doctor’s office and I wanted to turn tail and bolt out of there. But Daddy was in there talking to some unicorn stallion. Mommy was reading some fashion magazine that had been on the coffee table when we came in.
“Dewdrop?”
I looked up – the stallion my father had been talking to was motioning for me to join them in the office. Mommy ushered me inside.
“Good afternoon, Dewdrop. My name is Yapple Dapple, and I’m going to show you how to use your magic. Why don’t you show me what can you do?”
“Not much.” My horn sparked as I tried to coalesce magic into it.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Anything!” I reared and threw my front hooves up in frustration.
“Magic needs to be focused, Dewdrop. We’ll start with the basics. Illuminate is one of the easiest spells.” Yapple turned out the light. “Now that it’s dark, we can see the results of our spell better.” His horn brightened the room for a few seconds with a yellowish-green glow. “Now you try.”
I closed my eyes and focused on my horn. Illuminate. Light. Glow you stupid horn! My horn emitted a few mint-colored sparks, but that was it. The same as always.
Yapple nodded. “You may be trying too hard. It’s dark in here. I want you to close your eyes and picture the sun in your mind. A millennium ago unicorns raised the sun every day. That connection is still there; the sun is in your blood.”
I looked at a scabbed over wound from when I’d taken a shortcut through some brambles. I didn’t recall seeing it emitting light when it was bleeding. Yapple Dapple saw me looking at my leg and explained that that was a figure of speech. The important part was that my tribe had moved the sun more than a thousand years ago and unicorns still had a sympathetic connection there.
“Think of it this way – the sun is inside you and wants to get out. Let the sun out and light this room, Dewdrop.”
I pushed my left legs and right legs apart, bracing myself as I clenched my eyes shut. I poured all my concentration into my horn, ignoring everything else around me. I pictured the sun, I pictured light. “Illuminate!”
My horn sparked but the room didn’t get any lighter.
“It’s okay, Dewdrop, this is your first lesson, after all. It’ll come to you. One day you’ll be able to do things like this.” He grabbed a few items from around the room and levitated them around his head in a spinning circle. “Yapple Dapple!” His field flickered and the items he was levitating all crashed to the ground and he shrugged. “I guess I yappled instead of dappled.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as he picked everything up. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Even adults fail sometimes. It’s okay to mess up. Just remember that nopony’s perfect. Not me, not your parents, and not your teachers. Even Princess Celestia makes mistakes. What’s important is that you learn from them.”
“So what did you learn from that mistake?”
“I learned that you have a cute smile. You should smile more often and stop stressing about what you can’t do right now. You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Let me worry about teaching you magic – guaranteed or your parents’ money back!”
“Why did everything drop when you said your name?”
“My special talent involves canceling all magic around me, and I activate that by saying my name.”
“Canceling magic?”
He nodded. “Mr. Dazzle, could you lift this in your field, please?” My father levitated a rubber duck. “Yapple Dapple.” As soon as he spoke the words, the duck fell to the ground with a squeak as my father’s magical field sputtered out.
“It comes in really handy when a student has a magical surge. That’s why it activates when I say my name – just in case I’m incapacitated.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Once every month or two.” He moved a potted plant, revealing scorch marks on the wall. “I haven’t gotten around to repainting yet.” He lifted a painting off the wall; there was a hole underneath. “It also forces me to redecorate periodically, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Come to think of it, that window in the corner wasn’t always there. That colt’s surge actually caused structural damage. Last I checked he was an apprentice mage in Tackoma. It’s been a while; he might be a mage by now.”
“And you taught him magic?” I gasped.
“I helped to, anyway.”
“Wow!” With Yapple teaching me, I could be a mage someday!
Whinnyapolis: twelve years, ten months, and seven days ago
Yapple Dapple was waiting for us at the door of his office, and instead of ushering us inside, he locked his door and flipped his sign around to ‘closed’. He motioned for us to follow him, and he led the way to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away.
It was a blustery winter day, but ponies unable to eat ice cream on the coldest day of the year rarely stayed in Whinnyapolis for long. The cold didn’t bother any of us. Though that didn’t stop me from ordering a hot chocolate to go with my blueberry ice cream cone.
“Dewdrop, you’ve been receiving lessons from me for a little over a year, and in that time I’ve seen no progress at all.”
My ears flattened in shame.
“That’s not your fault.” He levitated some papers over to my parents. “It’s my teaching that’s deficient. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, Dewdrop’s test results are in. She doesn’t have a magical deficiency. Quite the opposite, in fact. She seems to have an impressive mana reserve.”
I didn’t know what all that meant, but the relief on my parents’ faces was contagious, so I smiled too. Though it made me curious. “What’s the bad news?”
“I’m completely out of ideas on how to unlock your potential.” He levitated a bag of bits onto the table. “In two decades of teaching magic, this is only the second time I’ve had to offer a refund. You’re capable of greatness, Dewey, but I’m not the one who’s going to help you achieve it. I’m sorry.” He gave my parents a stack of business cards. “These are some of my peers. I’ve discussed your case with all of them, and each of these ponies is willing to take you on as a student at no cost. Maybe one of them can explain things in a way I can’t. Once again, I’m sorry I failed you, Dewdrop.”
I ate my ice cream in silence as Yapple Dapple left to return to his office. I can do magic. But nopony knows how.
Whinnyapolis: eleven years, seven months, and twenty-nine days ago
Snowy and I stood next to the largest lake in the area. It was getting warmer, but it was still too cold to go swimming. Not that that was why we were there.
“Come on, Dewey.”
“What do you expect me to do, Snowy?”
“I don’t know, exactly. But I have a theory. Or hypothesis, rather.”
“Enlighten me. Because Sun and Moon know my horn certainly won’t.”
“Your magic seems to be tied to water somehow. The exploding fountain at school, the rainstorm you summoned when you got your cutie mark… There’s a pattern here, I’m just not sure what it is. So we’re going to experiment a bit.”
I groaned. “Snowy, please give up. I already have, my magic tutor refunded my parents because he couldn’t teach me, and none of the others he recommended were able to either.”
“He doesn’t know you like I do.” She picked up a pebble and threw it at me.
“Hey!” I dodged it. “What are you doing?”
“Come on, block it.” She tossed another pebble at me, but I sidestepped it again.
“I don’t know how!” My pleas for her to stop went unheeded as she continued picking up pebbles. Nothing big enough to hurt me, but I that didn’t mean I wanted to be pelted with tiny rocks.
“You wanted the bullies to stop picking on me, and the fountain exploded. You wanted it to rain for the ducks, and it did. I wanted you to get out of the way when I was sledding all those years ago and somehow I lifted you. I don’t think you need to ‘know how’ to make something happen so much as you need to really want something to happen.”
“I really want my horn to light up but it still won’t.” A pebble hit me while I was distracted. “Ow!”
“Come on, Dewey. I know you can do it. You really want to block the rocks.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t think of anything else to trigger this.”
If she couldn’t think of anything else, I did the only thing I could do – I galloped away as she continued hurling rocks at me. She picked up pebbles from in front of me, forcing me to change direction. I looked behind me and saw more stones headed my way. Before I knew it I’d reached the shore of the lake and had nowhere left to go but into the water.
I plunged in, wading out a few yards from shore so only my head was above the water. It was colder than I would’ve liked, but it was better than having rocks hit me.
Except pebbles kept raining down on me from the beach. I started splashing her, hoping that somehow cold water would be enough to deter a mare who was most comfortable in snow. That had about as much hope of succeeding as me lighting my horn.
I kept splashing her harder and harder and eventually she screamed in terror. I looked up, and a wave had her pinned to the sandy beach. It was just floating there, from the lake to Snowcatcher. I could feel a connection to the water. It would do anything I wanted, and right now it was holding Snowy as still as could be.
“That worked, Dewey. You can let me go now. Please?”
“I dunno. You’ve been throwing rocks at me. I feel like that’s pretty awful behavior for a friend to exhibit.”
“Hey! They were tiny pebbles and I proved the hypothesis! You can do magic! The ends justify the means, right?”
“Nope.” I pulled the wave back, flinging Snowcatcher into the frigid lake. She may have very strong magic, but she really needs to work on her pony skills. Much as she’d picked tiny pebbles so as not to hurt me, I knew a dip in the snowmelt-laden lake wouldn’t hurt her. Snow and cold didn’t bother her, and I was quickly determining that water didn’t bother me, either. Not even cold water.
Snowy surfaced, spitting out water. “Yeah, I deserved that.” Then she splashed me. “Now that you know how, show me what you can do.”
“Careful what you wish for, Snowy.” I grinned and Snowy disappeared beneath the surface. I created an air bubble around her head, then kept her beneath the waves, completely at my mercy until her air supply started running out. I brought her to the surface and she gasped, inhaling fresh air. “Impressed?”
“Yes.” She swam to shore and shook herself dry.
It was a pity I wasn’t done with her yet. I grasped her tail with the water, and the liquid water felt solid to me as I yanked my friend back into the water.
“Hey!”
“Doesn’t my bestie want to play in the water with me?”
“Will my bestie forgive me if I do?”
“You know it!” I hugged her, letting her know that I wouldn’t hold it against her. Besides, now I can do magic. She succeeded where even the professions failed. But her methods need some work…
Canterlot: eleven years, three months, and one day ago
I sat in the front row of Majesty's classroom, next to Snowy. She was furiously scribbling notes with her magic. Notes that I'd have to borrow once we were back in our dormroom since I couldn't mouthwrite as fast as our teacher could talk.
The classroom grew brighter as Princess Celestia entered. “Dewdrop Dazzle.”
I quickly bowed to the princess, and she excused me from class. I followed her downstairs into the school's basement.
“Dewdrop, I’ve seen you struggling here, despite having the best teachers Equestria has to offer, and even a friend like Snowcatcher who’s so willing to help. That’s understandable considering how rare your talents are, but it’s completely unacceptable for my school not to accommodate every student who goes here. So I’ve decided to try something a little unorthodox. This isn’t a decision I made lightly, but I feel it’s in your best interests and I’m willing to take a chance if it means you succeed. From now on you’ll be getting one on one instructions.”
A pair of royal guards entered, with a very reluctant stallion between them. He had the look of a colt who’d been forced to play dress up when all he wanted to do was roll around in the dirt.
“This is Seven Seas. You may remember I mentioned that we haven’t had a water mage in hundreds of years. Seven Seas was the last one. Fortunately, I was able to revive him from a prolonged stay in the statuary.”
“Yarrr.” Princess Celestia glared at him. “I mean… I be Seven Seas. Pleased to meet ye, lass. I’ll be teachin’ ye to use your powers.”
“Seven Seas was a rather notorious pirate in his day and was sentenced to the statue garden for his crimes. He’ll be instructing you in your magic… under supervision, of course. In exchange, the Crown is offering him a full pardon if he cooperates.”
“Hang yer pardon. Everypony I gave a whale’s blowhole about has been dead ‘n’ buried for centuries. I’m only doin’ this because I know what it’s like to struggle mightily with even the simplest tasks. Grabbin’ things with my mouth like a common mudpony ‘til I figured out me powers. But I showed ‘em all in the end.”
“Ahem.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m not s’posed to be braggin’ ‘bout that. Or calling other tribes derogatory slurs. I have a lot of ‘adjusting’ to do to modern society. Or so they be tellin’ me.”
“Despite being rough around the edges, by choosing to show you how to harness your powers in a way that will help you in daily life, Seven Seas has shown that underneath his gruff exterior is a pony who cares. You’ll, of course, have other teachers for the rest of your subjects. I’ll see to it that your schedule matches Snowcatcher’s as much as possible. Also, for obvious reasons, Seven Seas won’t be going anywhere without his guard detail or a magic inhibitor.”
“I’m sayin’ this for your benefit, Princess. I’ll play by your rules for me parole. Ain’t got no reason not to. No ship, no crew. All I got to me name is this piece of onyx jewelry that makes me an earth pony with a decorative horn. Can’t even pawn the cursed thing.” He sighed. “So let’s be getting started, shall we? Ye probably think ye’ve been cursed, and in a way ye have. Ye’ve also been blessed, filly.”
I looked up at the pirate, while Celestia watched both of us with what looked to be a hint of amusement in her eyes.
“Ponies is made up of mostly water. Close ye eyes. My guards and I will be moving ever so quietly to another spot in the basement. Use your senses and see if’n ye can be tellin’ where we are.”
I’d never even considered that I could ‘feel’ the ponies around me, but once I took notice of it I couldn’t not sense it. “You’re by the furnace. That’s… that’s way cool. And Princess Celestia is…” I opened my eyes. The source of water I’d sensed by the windows had disappeared when I’d said her name. “…Apparently teleporting away.”
“Nopony ever got the drop on me ‘ceptin’ when I was sleeping.” He chuckled. “Yarr, lass, now I want ye to be findin’ the closest source of water.”
I closed my eyes and flattened my ears, letting my other senses overwhelm me. Unsurprisingly the bathroom was the nearest large source of water. But I could also sense moisture in the air around me and the pipes running through the building.
“Yarr, by that smile on yer lips I be thinking the pieces are fittin’ together right nicely inside yer head. I wish I’d’ve known that trick meself when I was a wee lad yer age. These are the tools ye’ve been given, and I’ll teach ye how to make the best of them.”
I can’t wait to see Snowy’s face when I tell her I have an honest to goodness pirate as my teacher. Heh, he’s a pirate, so that’s probably more accurately ‘dishonest to goodness’.
Canterlot: eight years, seven months, and six days ago
Seven Seas always had the same guards. Day in and day out they stood there, always watching. Seven Seas was quite friendly with them, often outright flirtatious. Which was probably another reason why Princess Celestia had trusted him to be my instructor – he had no interest in my booty. Though I found it very interesting that she hadn’t selected mares to guard him.
To their credit, the guards stood there as stoically as was ponily possible under the circumstances. Not that Seven Seas made it easy when he did things like flopping onto their backs during one of his many impromptu song and dance numbers. He didn’t take life all that seriously, which could probably be explained by his having cheated death for centuries.
Today though, Seven Seas seemed subdued. It was the first time I’d seen him sad and a frown on his face was as out of place as snow on a tropical beach. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve reached the end of what I can teach ye, lass. You know every trick I learned to harness me powers. From here on out, I’ll be countin’ on you to be teachin’ me. This institution of higher learnin’ is dedicating resources to discovering ways to teach you how to do even more. I’m not a teacher, and I’ve never been much of a researcher. I adapted to me lot in life as best I could, but there are things I just never learned how to do. This will be our last lesson, as I just joined the Royal Guard this mornin’.”
My face fell – he was crazy, but I thoroughly enjoyed his tutoring. Nopony could relate to me like he could.
“I spent a great deal of my life runnin’ from the guards, and fightin’ with them. But if’n I never teach you nothin’ else, remember this: if you can’t beat an enemy consider joining up.” That led to a song cue about ants and picnics and eventually conceding defeat and colluding.
“I’m very confused right now, Mr. Seas.”
“Yarr, I told ye not to be callin’ me that. But I suppose you’re bein’ entitled to an explanation. I’m just not adapting to modern society the way I’d like. I was a pirate, ain’t ashamed t’ say I plundered with the best of them. But I only ever stole from the Crown and the nobility. Today’s pirates don’t sail the ocean looking for ships filled with treasure, they swindle it legally from widows and foals. They’re real estate speculators there with a lowball offer on an inherited property for immediate cash, not even waiting for a pony to properly mourn their loss. Insurance adjusters who promise to take care of you in your time of need, only to take advantage of you when you’re at your most vulnerable. Talent agents that offer fillies or colts a chance for success… for a price. Vultures, all of ‘em. I’d like to introduce ‘em to the pointy end of me cutlass. If’n I still had a cutlass.”
He struck the pose that he always did – head held high, looking slightly to the right. His left front leg was lifted slightly, like he was about to take a step forward, but he never did. A pose that I vividly remembered a statue in the garden holding when I’d first arrived at school. A statue that had conveniently disappeared not long after that.
“Or those folks with the Bits 4 Valuables kiosk. Yarr, if I’d known ponies would just sell me their treasure for ridiculously low prices I wouldn’t have wasted years of me life plunderin’ it.”
I hated to interrupt his rant, but I had to ask the question. “Why the Guards?”
“It’s the only place I can really be myself. They’ll let me have me cutlass back. And I can finally be riddin’ meself of this cursed horn ring. But mostly because I’ll be in the Royal Navy. Out at sea with dozens of strapping young hunks on board the HMS Sunburn.
I rolled my eyes. I give him a week before he’s a statue again.
Whinnyapolis: two years, zero months, and sixteen days ago
I trotted out of Snowy’s house – she’d teleported us home for our Hearth’s Warming break from school, but the long distance had knocked her out. With as many times as we’d made the trip we had a routine. She winked into her bedroom, a safe place since nopony else had any reason to be in there. Then she’d collapse, and I’d drag her into bed and tuck her in.
It was still early afternoon, and rather than go home I decided to go shopping in town. It would be easier to get Snowy something if she wasn’t tagging along. I’d taken care of getting gifts for my parents and most of my siblings while in Canterlot – it made it less likely that I’d get somepony the same thing one of my siblings did.
My first stop was an art supplies store. Tradition born of necessity dictated that I make Snowy a gift. We did that every year as a way of saving money and having fun. We both felt that giving a gift from the heart meant more than giving a gift bought at a store. What it really boiled down to was kindergarten arts and crafts time. Looking around the store I decided to do something with beads.
I still needed to get my youngest siblings toys of some sort. I stood outside the art store, trying to remember the location of the toy store. With as little time as I spent in Whinnyapolis, it was getting harder to navigate the city I technically called home. Things that had been intuitive just a few years earlier had faded from my mind from lack of use.
“Dewdrop Dazzle?”
I looked up. An older unicorn stallion had addressed me. With a pale green coat and thinning red and yellow hair, it took me a moment to place him. “Yapple Dapple?”
“Long time, no see. How are you doing?”
I coalesced my magic in my horn, using water molecules in the air to levitate my saddlebags in the air.
He chuckled. “You’re doing well I see. I knew you could do it. I’m still teaching, so please tell me your secret. What hurdle did you overcome to make this possible? If I ever encounter another foal like you, I want to be able to help them.”
“I’m a water mage. Princess Celestia says that there hasn’t been a pony like me in centuries. Harnessing my magic is like trying to drink a lake through a straw.”
“That’s… that explains a lot. You’ve met Princess Celestia?”
“Yes, I go to her gifted unicorns school now. It’s the only place qualified to teach me how to use my magic. Though there are some things I’ll never be able to do no matter how hard I try.” I nuzzled him. “You did your best, and I can’t fault you for not being able to teach me. You tried your hardest, and when I thought I was a complete failure you lifted my spirits and told me that everypony fails sometimes and not to let those failures dictate my life. You may not have taught me magic, but you still gave me life lessons I use to this day. Thank you.”
He blushed.
“Last time we saw each other, you treated my parents and I to ice cream. Want to catch up over some hot chocolate?”
“I need to get home to my wife. I’m supposed to be picking things up from the market, but it’s not every day I run into a former student. Besides, you’ve got better things to do than have drinks with an old teacher.”
No, actually, I really don’t. I sighed and bid him farewell. It was a reminder that Whinnyapolis was less and less like home with each passing year. Spending most of my time in Canterlot meant missing out on things in Whinnyapolis. But if I hurried through shopping, I could still catch the lighting of the Hearth’s Warming lights on the city’s giant ball of yarn. I checked my watch. Snowy will have slept off her teleport by then, I can drag her along with me.
My first stop was the toy shop, where a wooden train immediately caught my fancy. For Razzle. Wait, is Razzle too old for this now? I could give it to Misty or Sunshine… I realized I was seeing so little of my siblings that I couldn’t really gauge what to get them anymore. We were growing up without each other and growing apart. That won’t do. I purchased the train for an as-yet-undetermined younger sibling and returned home.
Rainbow was reading to Misty and Sunshine when I came in. Our two younger sisters were snuggled up against her in front of the fireplace. Raindrop was lounging on her bed listening to her Fleetwood Tack record.
My brothers were playing ball in the backyard. There was no snow… yet. The first snow of the season had been planned to coincide with the lighting of the giant ball of yarn. Officially, anyway. I couldn’t help but think that unofficially, Mom had waited until Snowy and I returned home from Canterlot.
Razzle was in the kitchen making a snack for herself. I helped myself to some crackers. “You coming to the lighting ceremony tonight, sis?”
She shrugged. “If you’ve seen that eyesore lit up once, you’ve seen all there is to see.”
“Oh. Well, I was planning on going and was hoping to spend some time with you. I don’t get to see any of you as much as I used to. Misty and Sunshine weren’t even born yet when I started attending school in Canterlot.”
“Rub it in, sis. Gifted unicorn gets to spend all her time with the other gifted unicorns. Like Snowcatcher. Is she going tonight?”
“I think so. I haven’t asked her yet because she’s still sleeping off the teleport.”
“Fine. If she goes, I guess I’ll go too.”
That’s an oddly specific requirement. I dismissed that and rounded up the rest of my siblings – at least the ones old enough to be trotting across town at that hour of the night. Rainbow and Raindrop were happy to come, and Sunshine and Misty practically begged to come. I had to twist my brothers’ legs to go. They were ‘too cool’ to hang out with their sisters. I rolled my eyes and explained that if they really wanted to impress the mares in their class, not only would they hang out with us, they’d personally keep an eye on their youngest sisters.
Once my siblings had all bundled up in their winter gear, we trotted next door to get Snowy. Rainbow suggested we ring the doorbell in traditional Hearth’s Warming fashion. When Snowcatcher opened the door, she was greeted by Hailstone, Thunderhead, Rainbow, Raindrop, Razzle, Misty, Sunshine, and myself all singing a carol.
“Silent night, starry night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round the forest, parents and young
Gentle creatures, every one…”
Snowcatcher trotted back into the house. “Snow’El, it’s for you.”
Her older sister took one look at all of us on the doorstep and did a double-take, then started counting us. She blinked. “There’s more of you than I remember there being.” She looked at us all in turn. “You I know, you I know, you I know.” She puffed up her chest as she looked at my brothers. “You two I definitely know.” She looked at the two youngest fillies on her doorstep. “Okay, who are you two?”
“I’m Sunshine Dazzle!”
“And I’m Misty Dazzle. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” My youngest sister did an adorable curtsey.
Snow’El was the oldest of us, so it stood to reason that she’d stopped playing with my siblings once Snowcatcher hadn’t been around to rope her into it all the time. She took things in stride, kneeling down to look Misty in the eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet such a well-mannered young filly.” She glared at my brothers. “The rest of you should take notes.”
“Would you like to join us to watch the lighting ceremony at the ball of yarn?” Misty looked up at Snow’El with the most adorable, pleading look, flitting her wings.
The older pegasus looked like she wanted to say no, but she relented. “Let me go get dressed. Want me to drag my sister along too?”
I nodded. “That would be great. Tell her we’re done singing. That should do the trick.”
Snowcatcher had already gotten dressed while we were talking to Snow’El. She’d put on her parka, a scarf, and boots. It wasn’t snowing yet, but that was part of the ceremony. She might not need the boots yet, but she would by the time the evening was over. I quickly scanned my siblings’ hooves – all of them were wearing boots too.
I looked down – I’d forgotten my own boots, but I didn’t really need them. If I didn’t want to get splashed, I wouldn’t. One of the perks of my magic – I could repel water if I desired. There were so many amazing things I could accomplish with my magic. If only I could do the basics every other unicorn took for granted without them draining me, I’d consider my magic a gift instead of a burden. What good was the ability to change the state of water from liquid to solid in the middle of the summer without breaking a sweat, if just picking up a quill and writing my name took all my energy and concentration?
I flash froze water vapor, creating a series of steps. Sunshine hopped from one to the other, eventually landing on my back. Misty, meanwhile, was offered a ride by Snow’El. With the two youngest members of our group accounted for, we strode off towards the outskirts of town. Even with the issues I’d had finding my way earlier in the day, there was no getting lost this time. The massive ball of yarn dominated the western part of the city’s skyline.
We arrived as the last rays of sunlight painted the cloudy sky a rainbow of colors. Soon the sky would go from cloudy to completely overcast, but by then the darkness would obscure the weather team working high above us.
Without the sun’s warmth the temperature quickly plummeted. Despite our winter gear, we closed the gaps between one another to keep warm. Thunderhead and Hailstone were denied the opportunity to show off to the mares in their class, as Snow’El took Misty and Sunshine under her wings to keep them warm.
Despite the plunging temperature, the mayor read a lengthy speech to stall for time before the celebrity guest, Superstar, finally flipped the switch to light up thirty stories of yarn. Superstar then started singing Hearth’s Warming carols and the crowd joined in.
I cheered along with the rest of the crowd. Even Razzle offered a half-hearted ‘yay’ from next to me. She’d wedged herself between Snowy and myself.
Much as my little sister had suggested, it wasn’t all that exciting to watch. More exciting was that the snow finally started falling, right on cue. Mom and her team of pegasi had once again delivered the first snow of winter to Whinnyapolis. By morning, the city would be coated in white.
Whinnyapolis: five days ago
It was a good thing that Snowy’s magic was so strong. After we finished dinner, she teleported us home, bringing everything we owned along in the process. I barely had enough time to write a letter of resignation for my job before we left. We forfeited our security deposit since we broke the terms of our lease by leaving early, but neither of us really cared.
I tucked Snowy into her bed and calmed Snowflake down – the poor kitty absolutely despised teleporting. I was unsure if that was because of the event itself, or because his ‘Mama’ was incapacitated afterwards. Once he was snuggled up to Snowy I turned the lights off.
I’d never learned to teleport. My magic was a learning experience – not just for me, but for the professors at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns as well. Even Princess Celestia hadn’t known a way that I could harness water to make my horn glow with light. So the professors researched – there were deep sea fish that could produce light, and so they figured out how. Sometimes answers were found in ancient tomes, volumes that weren’t available anywhere else in Equestria. And sometimes I discovered how to do things completely by accident. Two of my professors had written their own books on the subject. If another water mage ever appears in Equestria, they won’t be as lost as I was. I was lucky that Seven Seas had been petrified for his crimes, which meant Princess Celestia could bring him back to help me. But he hadn’t caused any problems, and last I’d heard he was thoroughly enjoying himself in the Royal Navy. He did his time, learned his lesson, and turned his life around. But that means he won’t be there next time. Hopefully I’m not either. I’d really prefer not to be a pigeon roost, thank you very much.
Since I couldn’t wink to my own home, I made the familiar trek through the Snows’ house from Snowy’s bedroom to the door. Her parents waved as I passed the living room and I waved back. I’d let Snowy break the news to them about our next destination, I had to go tell my own family.
Thunderhead and Hailstone weren’t home. They’d taken jobs on the weather team, and Mom had kept a place on the team for me. Snowy could have one too, if she wanted. I’ll have to let her down easy.
Rainbow and Raindrop were lounging around the living room – the twins were just under the cutoff age to go to Earth. They’d sprawled out on opposite ends of the same couch, so I sat in the middle. The two unicorns closed the books they’d been reading. Raindrop had a cheap paperback romance novel – the kind the drugstores sold. Rainbow appeared to be doing homework; at least I assumed she was, because nopony her age ever chose to read that book willingly.
“I see you’re reading Withers Heights, that new book all the teenagers are talking about.” They chuckled at my joke. “Have I ever told you about the time our literature class assigned us A Connecticolt Donkey In King Grover’s Court?”
They shook their heads. “Snowcatcher turned a two-page book report into a seventeen-page term paper, giving the book a scathing review highlighting all of the historical inaccuracies and pointing out that King Grover’s real adventures were far more interesting than his fictional exploits in the book. The teacher took a quick glance at it and wrote an ‘A’ on the paper. Snowy’s insistence that he actually read her report was met with the rebuttal that her grade would go down if he did, and that the assignment never specified that she had to enjoy the book, only that she had to read it.”
They laughed.
With the ice broken I decided to drop the news on them. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. There’s no easy way to say this, but I’m going to Earth.” That got their attention. I held up a hoof to stop their questions before they could even ask. “I leave in a few days. Snowy and I wanted to come home and see everypony one last time first. Unless things change, it’ll be five years before we see any of you again. They’re still looking for the brightest and best mares to go to Earth. The two of you will soon be old enough to cross the portal. I’m not saying you should, but it’s an option you should at least consider.”
They peppered me with questions. They had some interest, but they both wanted to finish school first, which I agreed with. I promised them I’d write once we got settled and advise them as to whether they should or shouldn’t join us.
Razzle was harder to find. She wasn’t in her room, so that meant she was probably flying around. Unfortunately, her turquoise coat blended into the sky well. I dragged one of the lounge chairs out of storage and set it up in the backyard. I probably looked silly ‘sunning’ myself in the winter, but eventually she spotted me and landed.
“What’s up, sis?”
“I just wanted to tell you a few things. I’m going to Earth in a few days and I won’t be back for five years.”
She gasped. “Is Snowy going too?”
“Yes.”
She pouted. I’d finally figured out she had a crush on my friend, and since it hadn’t faded as she grew older, I figured I’d sow a few seeds. “I’ll write to you once we get settled in. Maybe you can join us in a few years, if that’s where your heart leads you.”
“I… well, maybe. I kinda promised Mom I’d join the weather team. Whinnyapolis keeps expanding, so there’s always a need for more pegasi in the sky. But Earth sounds so much more exciting than pushing clouds around.”
“I’m sure it would be. Of course, you’d probably have to stay with some already established mares until you got up and galloping on your own.” I shrugged. “Good thing you know a couple of ponies on their way to get established.”
Razzle wagged her tail at the thought. Sun, Moon, and Stars, she’s even picking up Snowy’s mannerisms. There was no way of knowing if she’d outgrow her little crush or not, but if that was still her desire when the time came, I’d certainly do my best to facilitate things. They both deserve happiness – whether it’s with each other or not. Razzle has plenty of time to figure out that last part on her own. But at least now she knows she has my blessing if this is a path she wishes to pursue.
Earth: today
I trailed behind the group as we entered the consulate. Snowy had done a remarkable job drumming up interest in her crazy shot in the dark hotel idea. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but I took stock of our burgeoning company’s payroll. With the last second additions of Lily Blossom and Feathermay, we’d jumped to ten total investors. I can’t help but notice that six of them are attractive pegasi. Biased much, Snowy?
Not to mention two bona fide celebrities in Sunny Rays and Daisy Dreams. I still can’t believe either of them was here, let alone that you convinced them to go in on this crazy hotel idea. Or the fact that you didn’t recognize either one of them.
Snowy was always the ideas mare – the brains behind everything we did. But her pony skills were severely lacking, and that was my specialty. She’d solve the problems, and I’d keep everypony happy.
Snowcatcher led our group into the building, which was to be expected. The others already thought of her as their leader, and acted accordingly. I brought up the rear, sizing up the mares in front of me.
Diamond Rose followed Snowcatcher, brimming with the overconfidence that comes with knowing that the world revolves around you. Daisy Dreams was next in line; any insecurities the uptight model might be feeling were masked by the experience of years in the limelight. Feathermay followed, with an exuberance that could be likened to a foal’s natural curiosity. She was the only pegasus in our group that insisted on flying instead of trotting. Bifröst was next in line, blissfully unaware of anything going on around her. Sunny Rays and Flitterheart walked side by side, the former laying a wing on the latter’s withers, possibly for moral support, as Flitterheart looked like she wanted to fly off at every sudden loud noise in a city filled with them. Honeybuzz trailed them, observing things much as I was. That left Lily Blossom directly in front of me, completely disinterested. She followed the others without a sound other than the clip-clop of her hooves, and without taking in any of the exciting sights around us. She looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else, trying too hard not to get emotionally invested in Earth.
By the time we made it to the consulate’s waiting room I’d already drawn some quick conclusions. I’d expected the celebrities to be the egotistical ones, but it seemed that Diamond Rose was the prima donna of the group. Sunny Rays, on the other hoof, was way more laidback and low key than I would’ve expected. I’d have to be gentle when dealing with Flitterheart and firm with Diamond Rose. I’d have to calm Feathermay down and hype Lily Blossom up. I’d need to keep Bifröst focused on the tasks at hoof and loosen Daisy up a bit.
Snowcatcher wanted to meet with the duchess immediately, and she disappeared into the office while the rest of awkwardly made small talk. Or rather, the rest of us listened to Diamond Rose brag about her accomplishments. If there was something the pompous mare despised, it was silence.
When Snowy returned I hastily volunteered to be the next to meet with the duchess to get away from Diamond’s prattling nonsense. Besides, there was something else on my mind, and I wanted to get it out in the open before Ploomette could talk to anypony else. I’d missed the opportunity to inform Snowy because inspiration hadn’t hit until after she was already meeting with Ploomette.
I’d barely sat down before Ploomette started speaking. There were no formalities, she didn’t waste time requiring bows. With the number of ponies still in the waiting room, it was obvious she didn’t have the time for such societal nuances.
“I hear you wish to go in with Snowcatcher on the hotel she’s starting.” Ploomette was straight to the point.
I nodded. “That’s correct. Though the more I think about it, the more I think it might make more sense if we started our own weather team. Earth’s weather is uncontrolled – I’m a water mage, Snowy’s a master of any spell, and out of our eight other investors, somehow we ended up with six pegasi amongst them. We could easily handle the weather of a small settlement of a few hundred people.”
“I have no doubt of that, if not for one problem. This was communicated to every pegasus before crossing the portal, but Earth has treaties specifically banning countries from altering the weather. As of right now, what you propose is illegal.”
I blinked. “Why wouldn’t humans want to control the weather?”
“It’s not that they don’t want that kind of control, my little pony, but rather how said control is achieved, and also who achieves it and what they could do to those that oppose them. Politics on Earth are wildly different than those back home in Equestria. You get used to it after a while. We expect to be able to change this as time goes by, but like I just said, things work differently here. Think of it as if there was no princess, and the Canterlot nobles and Earth Pony Council controlled everything.”
She conveniently skipped adding the pegasus duchy in there. “Nothing would ever get done.”
“So for now, there will be no weather teams on Earth. Is this hotel not what you wish to do? You’re not obligated, no matter what you may have said on the bus. If you were coerced into agreeing to this, I’ll get you out.”
I shook my head. “Snowcatcher’s been my best friend since we were foals. I’d follow her to Tartarus and back. I trust her with my life. And my future, for that matter. I was just suggesting something that would play to our strengths, something she probably hadn’t considered since she had the idea of a hotel prior to anypony other than me agreeing to join her. When it was just her and I, it wouldn’t have been feasible to be a two-mare weather team. But with the two of us and six pegasi? It would be stupid not to at least suggest it.”
“Very well then. Do you have any other questions or concerns?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then please take a seat in the waiting room. I’ll meet with all of you later. Together.”
I looked out the window of the consulate at the incredible city outside. Closely paralleled to our own Manehattan, Earth’s Manhattan was significantly bigger and busier than its Equestrian equivalent. The sidewalks were crammed with people and the roads were filled with cars. I could just catch a glimpse of the United Nations building through the window, but there was another building between us that blocked most of it from view. Equestria had built their consulate as close to the UN as possible.
Behind me, I could hear the others debating the specifics of our upcoming hotel, but I didn’t feel much need to offer my two cents. Whatever Snowy thought worked best would get my vote. She absolutely hated having a yes mare, but in all the years I’d known her, I’d never once come out ahead in a debate with her, and neither would these mares. Not even the duchess.
So I stood silently, listening to the others. Snowy could deal with the objections as they arose, but I wanted to get a feel for what each of these other mares was like. Ploomette was adamant that the hotel had to be located within the New York City metro area, but immediately shot down Rainbow Flash’s suggestion of using the empty rooms in the consulate building. Cherry Pie appeared to know a few things about running a business, but she clammed up the second Snowy asked about her qualifications. Diamond Rose just liked the sound of her own voice. Whatever her background, she seemed more concerned with amenities like hot tubs than crucial things like where we should locate the hotel in the first place. Lily Blossom hadn’t said a word, and indeed I could see a scowl on her face every time I caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. Feathermay was indecisive, often agreeing with whoever had last spoken. Honeybuzz was laid back, interjecting only periodically and after a lot of thought. Sunny Rays’ sense of humor did little to ease the tensions in the room. And saying Bifröst thought outside the box would be an understatement. She’d left the box back in Equestria.
The duchess was already losing her argument about wanting the hotel to be as close to the consulate as possible. Snowy was fine with ‘New York metropolitan area’ but firmly refused to be in the city. She’d outmaneuvered Ploomette by showing her the land prices in the city and surrounding suburbs. It was significantly less expensive the further you got from the city. Honeybuzz chose that moment to ask what land prices looked like near the portal, suggesting there’d be a market as traffic through the portal increased. Ploomette nixed that one as ‘too far from the consulate’ before Snowy could weigh in. Then she explained why she wanted it to be so close. It wasn’t just for ease of commute, but rather she wanted us close so Equestrian visitors to the consulate would have all the comforts of home if they so desired, and it would serve as a place she could invite human guests to experience Equestrian culture for themselves.
Nopony could argue with her rationale. She even suggested that once we got our hotel up and running, we could look at expanding to a second location by the portal if we were profitable. It wasn’t an order, as the duchess had no authority to make decrees, but she outranked everypony else present. She didn’t need to decree it. She stated it, and nopony objected, not even Snowy. Then it was decided to limit the search to the outer suburbs for a property that hit the sweet spot between size, price, and location.
Snowy did what she did best: solve problems with logic. And I did what I did best – I listened to the ponies she was conversing with. Snowy’s brilliant, but she’ll never be a herd pony, or ‘people person’ as they say here on Earth. That falls to me. And now that I had a grasp on the agendas each of our new business associates has, I could work with Snowy to make sure everypony gets what they wanted. Some would be higher priority than others, and determining the order of importance jumped to the number one spot on my task list.
The others, meanwhile, were using Ploomette’s laptop to find a suitable property. They were all crowded around the device, jostling for position. Once again, I stayed off to the side, observing. I could tell a lot about the mares by watching them. Diamond Rose was self-important, and needed to be as close as possible to the device. Honeybuzz, Flitterheart, and Lily Blossom stayed near the back, though the latter was mostly out of disinterest. A hierarchy was forming, and that was another thing I’d have to nip in the bud. We’re all equal partners in this.
Ploomette was steering the computer, since none of the rest of us had ever even seen one except in pictures. There was no shortage of properties for sale in southwestern Connecticut, northeastern New Jersey, Long Island, and the southernmost counties of upstate New York. Once Ploomette figured out how to filter by location and price, the amount of properties available to look at decreased dramatically. To the point where there was absolutely nothing suitable within our budget. Ploomette kept increasing the price until results started showing up. The first good fit showed up in Wayne, New Jersey. It was everything we wanted: a vintage mansion with a large, spacious yard. The only downside? It was triple what we could afford. The next best option was almost five times our budget.
“I guess it’s this or nothing.” Ploomette picked up the phone.
“Wait! We can’t afford that. We should look further out.”
“We’ll just have to get a mortgage.”
“We can’t. I promised these mares that at the very least, if the business venture failed, we’d keep the roof over our heads,” Snowy continued her argument.
Ploomette put the phone down. “If you wish to tap into the market for New York City, you need to be close to the city. This is already too far away, but I don’t see any better options. Do you?”
“No.”
“Then if you wish to be hoteliers, this is your chance. If you want out, speak now. I can still assist you with other career options.”
I held my breath. This was the moment of truth. If anypony objected, it was over. The house of cards would collapse and we’d all be looking for new paths forward. Would that be the worst possible thing? Running a hotel isn’t exactly my first pick for a career choice. I silenced my internal objection with logic. It’s better than no plan at all, which is what we have without this. Then I reminded myself that customer service wasn’t my strong point, let alone Snowy’s.
The room remained silent. Nopony wanted to be the first to abandon ship. Cherry Pie opened and closed her mouth a few times. Every time she got ready to object she stopped herself.
“If you fail, I’ll hire all of you to work here at the consulate. You risk only the bits you came here with.”
“I’m still in.” Snowy levitated a bag of money from her saddlebag and dumped the funny looking bills out on the table. “That’s my stipend and every last bit I had saved up prior to leaving Equestria.”
I opened my saddlebags. My own money joined Snowy’s on the table. “My vote of confidence.”
“I’m still in.” Flitterheart fluttered to the table and placed her cash next to mine. Snowy quickly separated the piles and labeled them. One by one the rest of the ponies also added to the pile on the table.
“My stipend. I’m keeping the rest.” Lily Blossom was the last pony to speak up. She pulled the necessary amount of money from her saddlebags and walked back toward one of the corners.
“That’s all I ask of any of you.” Snowy looked at the pile of money on the table. She counted out exactly the amount of the stipend for everypony there and returned the rest. Snowy levitated some money from her own pile to make up for the shortfall on Diamond Rose’s. She turned to the snow white mare. “Your percent of the proceeds will be garnished until you’ve contributed the same amount as everypony else. Further, I’m assuming control of your vote on all matters that come up until such time as I’m paid back in full. Are there any objections to this?”
There weren’t, though Lily must have found it funny since she snorted in laughter. Everypony had already figured out who was going to be running the day-to-day operations of the business. Snowcatcher was the one with the plan. Objecting would mean taking on more responsibility personally, and nopony present thought they could do a better job. At least not yet. Sooner or later there’ll probably be internal politicking, but for now everypony’s on the same page.
“You’ll gain control over my vote as well, Snowcatcher. You’ll be my proxy, as I won’t be available to assist in the day-to-day operations. I’ll have the paperwork drawn up as soon as we have a property purchased.” Ploomette once more picked up the phone. “If there are no further objections, I’m going to call the realtor and schedule a tour of this property.”
Not bad, Snowy. We might just make this work after all.
This was great, loved the pirate!
I very vaguely remember that Garfield ant song. I'm surprised that I forgot it until now, considering how catchy it was.
It's a bit surprising that weather modification is outlawed. While there's been crazy conspiracy theories about HAARP being a nefarious weather-controlling weapon from the moment it was built, I don't see how Snowy and Dewey would be any different from old-fashioned localized cloud-seeding that's been utilized for over a century. Though I hope Daisy and Lulu contribute to the Africa Rainfall Project simulations. Though I doubt a laptop would cut it, since those are pretty hefty work units, taking 8-12 hours even on my 6-core Ryzen 5 at 4.2 GHz. And leaving BOINC settings at default is likely to lower CPU lifespan a fair bit. You want to use 50-60% of cycles at most.
https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/research/arp1/overview.s
5728419
Yarrr, thank you!
5728427
Picnic Panic.
Catchy is an understatement. It still gets stuck in my head from time to time.
5728525
"In the Navy"?
5728535
Thanks! :)
(Also, sorry I haven't gotten to the next chapter of the story yet. It's near the front of the queue of things to get to! Just, new things keep jumping in ahead of it...)
"but I that didn’t mean"
"but that didn’t mean"?
"even the professions failed"
"even the professionals failed"?
"while the rest of awkwardly made"
"while the rest of us awkwardly made"?
"And now that I had a grasp on the agendas each of our new business associates has, I could work with Snowy to make sure everypony gets what they wanted."
"And now that I have a grasp on the agendas each of our new business associates has, I can work with Snowy to make sure everypony gets what they want."?
And the chapter addition was nice; thanks for writing. :)
5732655
Thank you! Changes made accordingly. I think you'll like the newest chapter, and I've got almost 13,000 words on the next one, so expect that in the near future also.
5732736
You're welcome. :)
And I think I'll like it too -- when I finally get to it! :D