1
March 20th, 1008,
It’s spring time! That means it’s time for spring cleaning, new beginnings, and a new season of oranges to grow!
But, first thing’s first. The Guard Captain’s Ball is tonight, and the Oranges are going to be the guests of honor! I’m also gonna bring Maelstrom as my guest - we’ve been getting on more and more lately. I guess I’ll always wonder why she did what she did, but at least I can forgive her now. I’ve been angry for too long - this year is gonna see a brand new me!
Anyway, I gotta get ready. Today’s gonna be the best one ever - I can just feel it!
-Snow Storm.
2
The sun shone brightly down onto the Gallopagos Islands, bathing the white-sand beach in its warm glow. All over the beach, ponies ran around, built sandcastles, and played various games while the more adventurous types jumped into the ocean for a swim with the local wildlife.
Mirror Shield reclined comfortably on her chair, her eyes closed behind a pair of dark shades. The sounds of boisterous laughter, animals calling, and the waves gently rolling onto the beach all served to relax her completely.
In short, life was good.
The sky darkened slightly above Mirror. She frowned - why did the pegasi choose now to make the skies cloudy? She opened her eyes, grumbling under her breath, and as her vision focused, she realized what was blocking her sun was nothing more than a newspaper.
“What’s this?” she asked, reaching for the paper with her magic. Beside her, her husband sounded practically giddy.
“Our new job,” Smoke Screen said, flashing a very toothy grin.
“We’re retired, batboy,” she said, dropping her favorite nickname for him. He flapped his leathery wings, nearly dancing on the spot.
“But read it!” he whined, scooting around to the back of the chair and wrapping his forelegs gently around her neck. “This is going to be the job of a lifetime!”
Mirror Shield sighed, rolling her eyes, but reading a paper was harmless. Besides, she’d still be able to say no. She perused the paper, her mouth moving silently, her eyebrow raising slightly with each word she read:
‘The Solar Scepter, the ancient artifact which is said to solidify the union between Princesses Celestia and Luna, has made its way across Equestria, and is now on its way to be hosted at the Manehattan Museum of History, where it will be prominently displayed for a limited time…’
The paper went on, but that small paragraph was what Mirror Shield kept reading over and over. She rolled her head up, staring blankly behind her shades at the upside-down face of her husband. “Are you insane?” she asked quietly. “An object directly related to the Princesses, probably guarded heavily, in the middle of the most active city in Equestria!?”
“Isn’t it great!?” Smoke Screen blurted out, nuzzling his wife. “We won’t even have to fence it - the client wants the object directly.”
“No,” Mirror Shield said flatly. “No amount of bits is worth… this! This would get us hung in a second!”
“Not even…” Smoke Screen flashed that damned toothy grin again. He knew she couldn’t resist that grin. It was weaponized cuteness, and she hated it. He moved his muzzle directly onto her ear, whispering, “one million bits?”
Mirror Shield blanched. She lifted her sunglasses, looking Smoke Screen directly in the eye. “O-o-one million?” she repeated breathlessly. That was far more than all of their previous heists combined. Her hoof began to twitch. “Who in Tartarus wants this thing that badly?”
Smoke Screen shrugged. “Said her name was Abacus. I didn’t ask any further - questions get ponies killed.”
“And how do you know for sure she will give us the bits, and not just a bunch of lip?”
“Duh,” Smoke Screen said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Because we’d have the Scepter. We’d have the leverage.”
“Hm…” Mirror Shield rubbed her chin, trying to think all of the ways this could go horribly wrong. “I do have a cousin in Manehattan. She’s a guard, so if we get in good with her, we can keep all of our suspicion off…”
“That’s the spirit, sweetheart! I’ve already accepted the job and booked our boat.”
“You what!” She rolled up the paper and hit him over the head with it. He flinched away playfully. “We agreed to always discuss a job before taking it!”
“I know, I know, but she was pushy, and this was too good to pass up!”
Mirror Shield grumbled, but her mind was already made up. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s go pack our bags.”
3
Springtime came quickly to Manehattan. The weather teams, led by Weather Captain Bolt Buck, ushered in the new season smoothly, melting all but the smallest pockets of snow.
Snow Storm opened her bedroom window, letting in the gentle breeze, and looked down upon the massive orange grove. A flurry of activity could be seen as the field workers returned to their jobs, ready for another bountiful season of tasty citrus fruits.
She smiled as she spotted a mare in the grove who looked just like her, although slightly older and lacking the silver streak in her mane. Maelstrom, whom had returned to the grove only a couple of months ago, had already worked her way up to becoming a Foremare. She was standing in front of a group of bright-eyed ponies, gesturing to the orange trees. The ponies nodded and took off, fulfilling their duties, with Maelstrom supervising them.
Snow Storm pulled away from the window, dancing giddily in place. Today, she and her mom were going to go dress shopping. The Captain’s Ball, the annual celebration for the City Guard, was coming up, and the Orange Family were to be honored for their safe rescue from the clutches of the Red Hoof.
Snow Storm was also to be honored, and she had immediately invited her real mother to come along, to which Maelstrom gave a teary-eyed yes. She practically bounced down the stairs, humming to herself, and was stopped by the voice of her adopted mom.
“Breakfast, dear!” Annabelle Orange called out. Snow Storm hopped into the kitchen, her stomach growling with anticipation as she saw the stack of syrupy pancakes awaiting her.
“Thanks, mom!” she said, taking her seat at the table and chowing down. Annabelle smiled, shaking her head.
“Are you just going to call us both ‘mom’?” she asked teasingly, to which Snow nodded.
“Why not?” she retorted. The only answer she got was Mosley Orange snorting amusedly behind his paper. “You’re both my mom!”
“You can’t fault the logic, dear,” Mosley said, and both mares knew he was smirking.
“No, I suppose not,” Annabelle agreed, refilling Snow’s already empty plate. “Don’t get too full, now, or your walk into the city will be absolute torture.”
“I’ll be fine,” Snow said, gobbling up her seconds. “I’m gonna need my strength. Lots to do today. And tonight. I have to be me and the Mare do Well for the Ball… and hope the bad guys take a break for once.”
“Surely not..?” Annabelle sighed, shaking her head. “Can’t you rest from that even once?”
“Sorry,” Snow said, shrugging. “I hate to admit it, but, with the Red Hoof gone, crime has spiked. A lot of the little guys want the throne he sat in. I can’t just stop now.”
Mosley lowered his paper at that, leveling a stern gaze at his adopted daughter. Clearly, he still didn’t approve of her lifestyle. “What your mother means to say is that we want you to be as safe as possible. That’s all.”
“I understand, dad,” she said, standing up. “If I may be excused, I have to go get my mom.”
“Of course,” he said. “Enjoy your day with Maelstrom.”
Snow Storm walked out, leaving the two Oranges in the kitchen, separated by a tense silence. Mosley resumed reading his paper, and Annabelle focused all of her attention on the dishes.
After a short moment, Mosley spoke up. “We can’t stop her, you know.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Annabelle replied curtly.
“We owe her our lives,” he pointed out.
“I know that.” Did his wife just sniffle?
“Dear, we’ve been married how long? Tell me what’s wrong already.”
“Nothing,” Annabelle lied. “It’s just hard watching her grow up, that’s all.”
“Ah,” Mosley muttered, understanding finally coming to him. “You don’t need to be jealous, you know. She will always see you as her mother.”
“I am not jealous!” she said harshly. “How can I be jealous when we’ve done all the hard work, and her ‘real mother’-” Annabelle raised her hooves in very exaggerated air quotes- “comes waltzing back into her life just as quickly as she left it!?”
“Are we not the ones who pushed her to meet the mare?” Mosley said, his voice insufferably calm and rational. “Or did you think the meeting was going to go a far different way?”
“I… That’s not fair!” Annabelle blurted out, wiping at her eyes. “I just want her to be careful, that’s all! She’s already had her heart broken so many times.”
“With many more to come,” Mosley said matter-of-factly. “I think we can trust her to deal with her own feelings. You can’t protect her forever.”
“I can’t protect her at all! That’s the problem! No normal filly should ever have to rescue her own parents from some crime lord!”
Despite the somber feeling of the room, Mosley gave his wife a smile. “Then let’s be thankful that Snow Storm is no normal filly.”
4
“Nein nein nein! You are cutting too deep!” Maelstrom said, stomping up to a teenage pony, who yelped and cowered beneath the older mare’s furrowed brow. Maelstrom sighed, exerting a great effort to soften her face, and spoke in a gentler tone.
“Like this,” she said, taking the pruners. “You must look for discolored branches, little sprouts, and such! Cut at the collar, not the trunk, like so.” She demonstrated, while the teenager looked on intently, nodding his head.
“I got it,” he said, eagerly taking the pruners back. She watched his first cut, nodding approvingly as he corrected himself.
“Mom!” Snow Storm’s voice rang out throughout the grove. Some ponies looked up, looking to identify the source of the call, but most kept on working. Maelstrom, satisfied that the boy could work on his own now, left him to his own devices and ran to meet her daughter.
“Leibchen!” she practically yelled, galloping to Snow Storm and wrapping her up in a hug. “Or, should I say, boss?”
Snow Storm giggled. “No, just uh… libe whatever,” she said, to which Maelstrom shook her head.
“I will yet teach you the language of your forebearers,” she told Snow Storm with a smile. Her daughter’s only response was a noncommittal nod.
“Sooner or later,” Snow said. “But, for now, we have to get ready and get our dresses! Are you excited for the Captain’s Ball?”
“Oh, ja! Forgive me, my love, I’d almost forgotten our little appointment! Teaching these kids… aye…”
“They’ll be okay,” Snow Storm reassured her. “I just really wanna go hang out.”
“Mmhmm,” Maelstrom agreed, nodding her head. In truth, she was refraining hard from bursting out crying - she’d never thought she’d get the chance to be with her daughter again, let alone become friends. “But, are you ready for the Ball? You know, what with that Arschloch-”
There was a snicker from behind her - the teenager certainly didn’t speak Anhalter, but anypony could’ve known what ‘Arschloch’ meant. Maelstrom wheeled around, giving him a look. He gulped, diving back into his work, his hoof shaking. Snow Storm covered her mouth to hide her laughter - her mom could look positively mean when she wanted to. A trait that, quite obviously, ran in the family.
“He's not... that, mom,” Snow said, shaking her head. “Joules is still in Canterlot, on a very important mission. Captain Murdoc told me himself. Simple as that.”
Maelstrom nodded, though with a frown. “If you say so, I believe you,” she said.
“Then let’s go!” Snow said excitedly, nearly hopping in place. “I’ll go wait by the front gate.”
Maelstrom chuckled. “Very well, dear. I suppose my workers will be fine on their own, for a little while.”