“So, after that, we’ll test the soap on some of the enchanted clothing your mom got from the store.” Napoleon explained, waving out the second to last box on his flow chart. “From there, we collect results and finish with a conclusion.”
Dazzle snickered. “Okay.”
“You’ll handle creating the charts on our poster board, since you are great at statistics.” Napoleon said.
“Right.” Dazzle made a mental note of that. Who knew the statistics that her father taught her about business could be so useful in a science project?
Coco came to the table with some quiche. Something about potatoes, cheese, flour, milk as well as other ingredients.
Coco took out the plates from under the pan and a butter knife to cut the quiche. She served Dazzle and Napoleon a plate. After she finished the setup, she retreated back into the kitchen and started washing her mixing bowls.
Not sparing another minute, Napoleon sunk his snout in the dish. His eyes lit up. “Wow! THIS IS AMAZING!” he exclaimed.
“She does have that touch.” Dazzle commented.
Napoleon looked over to Coco. “Thank you for lunch, Ms. Pommel!”
“You’re very welcome, Napoleon.” Coco said.
“So, when do start mixing the lye with fat?” Dazzle asked.
“Tomorrow sound good?” Napoleon asked with his mouthful. He swallowed and stood up over the table, “Can I hang out with Dazzle tomorrow, Miss Pommel?”
Coco chuckled. “Sure.”
Napoleon sat back down and pulled his balled his hoof towards his chest and closed his eyes. “YESSS.” He celebrated.
“Who knew soap making was so much fun?” Dazzle said.
“Meadowbrook, Obviously.” Napoleon tapped on the book he borrowed from the library. “She took the first steps in learning that some soap has magical properties.”
“Ooh, what magical properties?” Dazzle asked. “Can we create them for the project?”
“There are so many.” Napoleon opened the book to a table filled with effects with corresponding spells.
Suddenly, one caught her eye. “Tingling Mint sounds cool.”
“I agree.” Napoleon said. “But it requires lye from the Permafrost microbes from up north of the Crystal Empire.” He grimaced. “It’s expensive.”
She had another glance, and found one that she had to read twice to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. “One that turns your rubber ducky into an actual duck?”
“Only just a cousin of Poison Joke.” Napoleon recalled. “Inversion Acacia, from the Savanna in the Zebra Lands. Also expensive.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Dazzle shuddered. “Ducks can be very feisty creatures.”
Napoleon chuckled. “For this project, we’ll only do one spell- an ab-staining spell. Meadowbrook coined the pun.” He turned to another table in the book. “Meadowbrook experimented with the percentages of lye and fat. Because of their properties, both can store magic, but not all percentages are equal.” He snapped the book shut. “We are re-creating the experiment, only with an ab-staining spell instead of bug repellant.”
Dazzle nodded. “Why bug repellant?”
“Flash Bees as well as other nasty insects.” Napoleon said. “She had to create a soap that acted as a natural bug repellant.”
“So, how did you get your cutie mark?” Dazzle asked.
“Oh, uhm.” Napoleon smiled nervously. “You really want to know?”
Dazzle shook her head. “It can’t be that bad!”
“Okay then…” Napoleon took a deep breath. “So, I was playing with chemicals in my house while mom and dad were gone. Mistake number one. Supposed to be doing homework. Mistake number two. So, after mixing a couple chemicals in a bottle, something exploded.”
Dazzle’s eyes widened.
“Turns out Platinum reacts hydrogen you get after using a spell to dissociate water. Mistake number three.” He sighed. “When my parents came home, it was a huge mix of emotions. They started yelling at me for destroying their linoleum. It took months to replace. But in the middle of their lecture, my mother stopped suddenly and asked me to turn my flank.
“I thought I was about to be spanked.” Napoleon said. “But instead, my mom cleaned off the soot from my flank and shouted ‘Napoleon! You got your cutie mark!’” He mocked his mother’s tone in a squeaky high-pitched voice.
“So, we had a party later on that weekend- hole in the floor and all.” He continued. “It made for a good conversation starter if anything.”
“That’s funny!” Dazzle chuckled. “I wish I got my mark that way!”
“By the way, how did you get your mark?” Napoleon asked.
“Oh, in a not so exciting way.” Dazzle sighed. “I got it when I pick out my tiara… which reminds me…” She turned backwards in her seat. “Hey Coco, do you think I should show Napoleon my secret tiara?”
Coco let out a nervous chuckle. “I suppose.”
Dazzle hopped out of her chair and to her room. When she walked in, she dodged the mess around her room with spare spools of thread and rolls of fabric. She came to her desk and snagged the tiara from atop her journal. On her way out, Yttrium’s lab coat caught her attention. She pulled it off the rack and put in on. It couldn’t hurt, right?
She came back to the dining table and showed Napoleon. Napoleon covered his mouth with his hooves. Dazzle could tell Napoleon hid a smile behind those hooves. “That lab coat is a little too big for you.”
“It’s Yttrium’s, actually.” She said. “You’ll see why I have it on in a minute. Here.” She held out the tiara to Napoleon.
“Wow!” He weighed the tiara in his hooves and inspected it. “How intricate. What metal is it made out of?”
“I… I have no idea.” Dazzle shrugged. She held out a hoof. “Can I have it back? I’ll show you the best part.”
He hoofed the tiara back to Dazzle. Dazzle then placed the tiara on her head. A familiar dizziness came over her. Her vision blurred and then settled.
“Ta-da!” She waved her hooves outward.
Napoleon gasped. “So it’s true! I thought my parents were joking when they talked about you as Mare-ison!”
“Exactly.” Coco cut in. Without facing them, she kept her focus on scrubbing the glassware. “It is also hard to believe, but Princess Twilight enchanted it for her.”
Napoleon still had his jaw hanging open. “We should show Vertigo!”
“Who is Vertigo?” Coco asked.
“A filly at school.” Dazzle answered quickly, as she already saw a blush on Napoleon’s cheeks.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Coco spun around with frothy hooves. She wiped them off on a dish rag. “We don’t want the secret getting out. Princess Twilight is already busy with duties of her own. If word got out that she has successfully created aging spell enchanted items, she would be hounded to no end.”
Napoleon nodded. “I understand.”
“You need to promise to keep this a secret.” Dazzle insisted.
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He mimed the actions, and almost poked himself in the eye.
Dazzle snuck a bite in of the quiche. Better while it was hot.
“I hate to ask, but can I try?” Napoleon motioned to the tiara on top of her head.
“Sure, I don’t think it will hurt.” Dazzle gingerly took the tiara off. She knew to keep a grip on it since he got dizzy every time she popped back into her filly form. She felt a little woozy this time, but when her vision focused, she held it out to.
Dazzle snickered at how funny Napoleon looked with a tiara on. However, instead of a stallion, he stayed a colt.
“Didn’t work.” He sighed.
“Huh, must only do it for me.” Dazzle figured that Princess Twilight only enchanted it for her, so it wouldn’t cause problems. She thought if Coco put it on, then she would be an older mare. Celestia only knew what it would do to ponies like Randolph or Jasmine Tea.
Napoleon set the tiara down on the table, next to his book.
“Thank you for helping me with my project, Dazzle.” Napoleon tapped on the library book.
“No problem.” Dazzle glanced outside the window. Although the frost on the windows remained from last night, the sun was still shining. The icy feel fled away as the warm, golden glow of the sun bathed the city in light. It looked like a good day to go outside. “So, should we go out and play?”
“Sure!” Napoleon said.
“Wait until I’m finished with the dishes, sweetie.” Coco interjected, rubbing a plate with a dish cloth.
Dazzle smiled. She though it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Want me to help?”
Dazzle’s hooves quaked. Her coat was musty from all the sweat she got while playing with Napoleon. She let out a yawn.
“Napoleon has quite the energy.” Coco snickered.
“Quite.” Dazzle tried shaking off her sleepy haze, but she still struggled to keep her eyes open.
When Coco opened the door, she saw a letter on the ground. “Oh, look at that! Post came in!” She picked it up and inspected it. After she read the address, she held it out to Dazzle. “It’s for you.”
Dazzle picked it up and read it. The weariness wore off instantly. “Oh boy! It’s from Silver Spoon!”
Coco hung her overcoat on the rack. Dazzle tossed her scarf and coat aside.
“Hey! Pick up after yourself!” Coco shouted.
Dazzle rushed back to the crumpled pile and picked up the coat and scarf from off the ground. She hung it up on the rack. Without another word more, she rushed to her room and just about destroyed the envelope trying to open it.
She read to herself.
Dear Dazzle, I finally started getting your letters. Sending them to Randolph was a great idea. I have put off writing a letter back since I haven’t been feeling too well as of late. But I’m okay though. Applebloom and her friends have invited me to countless outings to help those who do not have their cutie mark yet. I’ve declined their offer, but I appreciate their gesture.
I’ve been a month clean of my- issues. Still have hard times from time to time due to the fact that my parents are still on my case. But I’ll be fine though. Cheerilee has been helping me with my assignments.
Dazzle sighed in content. Good to hear Silver was doing better than before. She read further.
I just wanted to thank you for helping me. I know you are going through tough times too, being separated from friends and family and all that. How are you doing? How is Mane-hattan? I heard from Randolph the other day that you grilled Suri Polomare. I want to hear all about that story! Ponyville is buzzing to see how your side of the story was!
Can’t wait to get a letter from you! Bump, Bump, Sugar Lump, Rump! -Silver Spoon
Dazzle took a pen and paper out of her desk and started to write.
Dear Silver Spoon!
It is so good to hear back from you! Good to hear you are doing great!
As for the story, I about started a riot! Poor Coco has a lot of jerks picking on her. I have a lot to learn from her though. She somehow still stands her ground in silence and gives the other pony the respect they sometimes don’t deserve. Something that I’m slowly learning to do.
As for my side of the story, we were on the top floor of the Mare-pire State Building, enjoying the view, about to leave when Suri Polomare throws a couple passive-aggressive jabs at Coco. Then, I come into the picture, and instead of passive-aggression, I tell her how it is and then she gets all wishy-washy. Turns out she has a new boyfriend…
“I thought you were going to hit the hay.” Coco said.
Coco was dressed in fuzzy white robe and baggy blue sweatpants. Her eyes were just about closed as she squinted towards Dazzle. Her mane still had that simple and sharp style, however. How did she train her hair to do that?
Dazzle turned and spit the pencil out of her mouth. “Just had to write a letter to a friend.”
“Alright. Just get to bed. You have a couple chores to do before running off with Napoleon tomorrow.” Coco yawned before shutting the door to a crack. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Dazzle picked up her pencil and folded up the letter. “Coco’s right. I’d better get some rest.”