Story Notes: 16 (Snowcatcher Part 1) · 10:11pm Jul 23rd, 2021
Full-sized image available at: https://www.deviantart.com/alwaysdressesinstyle/art/img-882512651
I guess before I get to Snowcatcher, I should address the elephant in the room.
I changed the cover art. You may have noticed the change if you've checked in since Rainbow Flash's chapter was posted (I changed it in early June). What do you think - keep this, or go back to the original cover? I had hoped that I could perhaps commission a replacement, but no artists stepped forward, and I did what I could with what I had available. The full-size version of the cover is linked above (due to Fimfiction's size restrictions). You'll notice that both Business Trip & Mr. Jones Goes To Equestria have had similar upgrades. Both shots (note that Business Trip's art is cropped from 16's image) were taken on the same cruise. The blue convertible was shot as it pulled into the meet-up location, while the red convertible was shot at speed on the highway (please note I was a passenger and not driving at the time the shot was taken). Both are Mustangs (gee, there's a surprise).
Relevant to the new cover art for Mr. Jones, the portal would be closest to exit 16 (chosen as a nod to the ongoing sequel, of course) on I-195 in New Jersey, so believe it or not, that's technically accurate. Of the three highways closest to the portal's location, the fact that one of them would have an exit 16 right where I needed it is just an incredible spot of luck. Sadly, neither of these pictures were actually shot close to the portal or the Mareiott.
Helping make this possible is that I found vectors for the cutie marks of twelve of our cast members. I was able to 'make' one for Lulu Luck by flipping Luckette's mark upside down (seriously, that's what Hasbro did, with a slight recolor; the recolor was beyond my abilities however), and I just manually edited the other three (which was a major pain and doesn't look nearly as good as the vectors). If anyone out there reading this makes vectors, there are still ponies that need their cutie marks vectored, including: Rainbow Flash, Lulu Luck, Cherry Pie, and Starbeam Twinkle.
Source: AlwaysDressesInStyle
I know I ended this chapter before Snowy gets to Earth, but after the last few chapters, I figured we could all use an adorable palate cleanser. There will be drama next chapter, but for now, there's cuteness overload and some worldbuilding.
As for why the chapter ends where it does, it seemed like their entrance exam into Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns was a good turning point in her life. The next chapter will focus on her school years.
We've waited more than 150,000 words and almost two years to see what makes Snowcatcher tick. We've had hints, but nothing substantial until now. I really hope it was worth the wait.
Like Ploomette, we'll be seeing a bit more from Snowy before we move on to Starbeam Twinkle. The second of three Snowcatcher chapters is already finished, and going through the pre-reading process as we speak. That'll take us up to the point she crossed the portal. My goal is to have that posted in early August.
Her third chapter will focus on her first day on Earth.
Source: AlwaysDressesInStyle
In addition to the Business Trip trilogy, I've upgraded almost all of my other cover art images over the past few months.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/koudoawaiavortex/art/Snowcatcher-498380211
SNOWCATCHER has a talent for catching snowflakes on her tongue - they tickle as they melt!
All things considered, she's done a great job of making that work for her.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/relaxn/art/Snowcatcher-281562560
My mental image of Equestrian cuisine is 'Pennsylvania Dutch, but vegetarian'.
So it should come as no surprise that corn & potato chowder is a real thing. I imagine Mrs. Dazzle's recipe includes corn (obviously), potatoes (of course), celery, onions, carrots, and a creamy, cheesey base, seasoned with a variety of spices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_chowder
Don't ask me to cook such a thing. My cooking skills are legendary: legendarily bad.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/1204948
We also had a blink-and-you'll-miss-her (though she didn't miss us, and she's silently judging all of us because we took her out of her studies) cameo from a pre-friendship Twilight Sparkle.
Number Place is a former name for sudoku puzzles. I figured the original name would work better in Equestrian.
"What's a nine-letter word starting with '7'?" is a joke from Garfield, as Jon puzzles his way through a sudoku. The reply is from my Grandpa, who when I jokingly asked him that question, gave that immediate (not to mention correct) response. Another memory ponified and preserved for the ages.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/roboforks/art/pones-868198994
Seen above with some of other mares we're familiar with, Diamond Rose & Cherry Pie.
One thing I should probably mention: Snowy's a bit obsessed with flying. We've seen it before with her teleportation spells going straight into the air, but also with her pretending to have wings.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/softcoremirth/art/Snowcatcher-s-Frolic-339234236
The pain is excrutiating, yet she continues to push against her limits, as if continuously doing so will somehow push those limits out further (it won't).
She's come to grips with the pain. She weighs every long-distance teleport carefully: is it worth it? If the answer is 'yes', away she goes. If the answer is 'no', she just does a bunch of short distance teleports. If Whinnyapolis wasn't so far from Canterlot, she'd just do a series of small winks until she got home. Unfortunately, the cities are about a thousand miles away from one another.
She has a way to get back and forth between home and school almost instantly. The way she looks at it, the two hours of pain is worth it for the ability to go home whenever she wants. As she gets used to the pain, the less she answers the question of 'is it worth it?' negatively. Think of it as voluntarily experiencing migraines because the payoff is worth it.
No pain, no gain.
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/winged-dragoness/art/The-First-Snow-of-Year-142911083
Snow'El is a G3 pony. The name's been used for two very different ponies, and I've gone with the second. As far as older sisters go, Snow'El's about par for the course. Snowcatcher annoys her sometimes, but they love one another. She's also just entering her bratty teenager stage as we're introduced to her.
As for how many times a little sister can be air-dropped, it really depends on the height said little sister is dropped from. Obviously, I don't recommend trying this at home.
Snow'El seen below having her halo stolen by G3 Star Catcher. In terms of this story, that's one older sister (Ploomette's) pranking another (Snowcatcher's). 
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/1587016
Frostbite, meanwhile, was Professor Cold Heart's dim-witted, bumbling sidekick in the Care Bears. Care Bear names work really well for ponies. In this case, even some of the villains. He wasn't a very good assistant to Professor Cold Heart, and he's an absolutely awful teacher. Yet another reason Snowy decides to go to Princess Celestia's school.
Source: The collection of AlwaysDressesInStyle
Snowcatcher's G4 brushable and blind bag are long out of stores (and her blind bag was only ever released in Europe), but...
I think we're getting a new Snowcatcher toy (and a Minty!) this year. Unicorn with a blue body, pink hair, snowflake cutie mark, and she's using Rarity's sculpt (the G4 toy used a recolor of Rarity's vector art). We've seen Hasbro likes to rename otherwise identical ponies, so there's no guarantees, but I don't even see their names listed. So, yeah, Snowcatcher until proven otherwise. And Minty, of which there's absolutely no doubt. They'll both be part of an Advent calendar released later this year.
As a general rule, I don't normally get gimmick ponies (and I consider transparent ponies a gimmick), but for these two, I'll make an exception.
Out of curiosity, does anyone else have toys (brushables and/or blind bags) of any of our cast? When I first wrote the original story nearly two years ago, I wanted to shine the spotlight on some toy-exclusive ponies and give them some characterization. Nearly 200,000 words later I'd say I've accomplished that. 
These ponies are too good to be forgotten, and it's always bothered me they were relegated to also-ran status because *gasps* they weren't in the show. 'They're recolors! Their vector art is the same! They're imposters!' There was a time that was the prevailing thought in the fandom.
...Hm. Regarding flying, has Snowcatcher, in her time since arriving on Earth, considered the possibilities of ultralights? Still not the same as being under her own power, of course, but it occurred to me just now that she might still find something in them.
(Apologies if this has been brought up before and I'm forgetting.)
Anyway, thank you, as usual, in general for the writing and additional information.
And thanks for your care for characters, too (even if I'm one of the people who, as far as I'm recalling, basically only knows these ponies from your work). :)
5559417
We haven't gotten that far yet, but no, that wasn't on the author's radar until now. I was thinking more along the lines of ballooning, but she might get bored of that and move on to ultralights. Time will tell!
5559420
Oh! Well, glad the idea came to me at a good time to mention it, then. :)
And yeah, hm, I'm not sure how well ballooning would compare for her. But as a place to start experimenting with personal human flying machines, it could have a safety advantage, if nothing else. And possibly also technical and regulatory: a unicorn can probably just use a completely unmodified human hot air balloon, but an ultralight would presumably require significant modifications for safe and effective pony operation.
5559613
Like ziplining, it doesn't seem to be something really designed for quadrupeds. But as the show proved, ponies can zipline... and end up covered in tree sap.
5559691
Snowcatcher will, presumably, be trying to avoid that last part. :D
5559827
She's a bit more competent than the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
5559886
Right. :D
Starlight Glimmer should be fairly famous for saving the Princesses and being instrumental in reforming the Changelings and becoming Headmare of the Friendship School. The question is, is her ability to fly via self-levitation part of her fame? I imagine that every fully trained unicorn wizard in Equestria puts some serious thought into the possibility of reverse engineering the trick at some point in their lives if it is.
5560414
Levitating oneself is mentioned in Snowy's second chapter. There's a very in-depth look at teleportation, and it's Snow'El who brings the concept of self-levitation to her attention. Followed immediately by a warning not to get into the Wonderbolts. That chapter should be posted very shortly - it's with my pre-readers right now.