//------------------------------// // The Tools of Change // Story: You Don't Mess With The Snips // by The Invincible //------------------------------// Rarity pulled a silver ribbon from the basket next to the dais, fastening it tightly around the neck of the dressform before her. She eyed it keenly and pulled a needle swiftly in and out, securing the ribbon to the material of the dress. She allowed herself a satisfied smile as she pulled the dress off the molded plastic model. The unicorn gently placed the garment on a clothes hanger and hung it on a nearby rack. A quick look at the clock on the wall informed her that only a few hours had passed since Sweetie Belle left the Boutique. She glanced out the window, observing the beautiful weather, and decided that she had time for one more small errand. Rarity picked out a black sunhat with a single white silk rose stitched on the side; she wasn’t feeling particularly extravagant today. Finally, she employed a little magic to open the latch to her front door, and after checking herself in three more mirrors on her way out, she exited the shop. The unicorn strode casually through Ponyville, allowing a gentle spring breeze to caress her face. She nodded gracefully to a few ponies she knew, as she traveled the short distance to the town’s library. In no time at all, the giant oak tree was before her. She straightened her hat one final time and brought up a hoof to knock on the door. Although her friend had taken up residence here, the library was still a public fixture in Ponyville. Today was Saturday however, so the place was bound to be essentially empty. The unicorn knocked anyway, out of respect for her friend’s privacy. Not to mention, her friend could be doing any number of things that would demand she not be disturbed. She continued to wait patiently, until finally the door opened to reveal the library’s most diligent little attendant. His face adopted a pleasant smile as he identified the visitor standing at the door. “Oh! Hi, Rarity! It’s really good to see you today. And well...every day, really! I mean, is there anything I...I mean, we...the library, can do for you today? We...I mean, I are-AM...I am at your service,” he stammered in the most adorably awkward way. Rarity covered up a charming giggle at Spike’s antics and replied. “Hello, Spike. It’s quite lovely to see you as well. Do you mind if I come in? There’s somepony here with whom I need to discuss something quite important.” Spike’s face nearly exploded with glee, but Rarity leaned down and shook her head gently. “I’m dreadfully sorry, Spike. But it isn’t you.” “Oh! Right, sure. I understand,” he said, doing his very best not to sound disappointed. “Please come right in. Have a seat anywhere; there’s plenty of room today. I need to go take care of something. I’ll be back soon!” “Take your time, dear,” Rarity called after him, as the young dragon headed through the door to the kitchen. She took off her hat and laid it gently on a wall hook next to the door. A quick glance around the room helped her locate her target. The table at the very back of the room was the only one occupied. A pony was sitting behind a large textbook, partially concealed by massive stacks of papers. “I had a feeling you might be here,” Rarity said with a little grin. The dark magenta mare lowered the book and ran a hoof through her disheveled light pink mane. “Isn’t that a little bit of profiling, Rarity? An educator has to spend her Saturdays in a library? Why wouldn’t you look for me at my house?” Miss Cheerilee asked, her head leaning on her hoof in exhaustion. Rarity lowered her eyelids, giving Cheerilee her best ‘are you serious?’ look. Cheerilee sighed in defeat. “I know, you caught me. Berry is a wonderful roommate. But our house isn’t the...quietest place in town on the weekend. I just needed a place to grade these assignments in peace, and Twilight Sparkle was happy to oblige. She and her little assistant have been very accommodating.” Almost as if on cue, Spike emerged from the kitchen, balancing a tray in one of his claws. He approached the table and laid the tray down, gripping the drink pitcher firmly in his other claw. “Another Chai iced tea, Miss Cheerilee?” he asked, pouring the beverage into two chilled glasses. “There’s one for you too, Rarity, if you’d like.” “That sounds wonderful, Spike. I’d love to try some of your tea,” Rarity said with a gracious smile. She lifted the filled glass to her mouth, and pursed her lips for a cursory sip. To her delight, the tea was amazing. She was just about to voice her opinion to Spike, but Cheerilee was just slightly faster than her. “You’re the best, Spike! You’ve done it again. This is divine! Any mare in Equestria would be lucky to have you in her life,” she said, running her hoof messily through Spike’s head scales. “Thanks so much, Miss Cheerilee. That’s very kind of you to say....present company considering,” Spike said, adding a confident little smile in Rarity’s direction. Rarity was rescued from having to address that sideways comment by a loud crash that emanated from the kitchen. That bang was followed by an unmistakable aroma, and its origin was confirmed by a thin trail of smoke billowing from the crack underneath the kitchen door. “Extinguisher! Extinguisher!” screamed a voice from inside. “No, no, no! And that’s why you don’t leave Twilight alone in the kitchen!” Spike said worriedly. “I gotta go help her! If you two will excuse me?” With a final exaggerated bow, he bolted for the kitchen door, slipping through it as quickly as he could to prevent the smoke from escaping more than it already had. Rarity’s eyes followed him all the way to the door. As he disappeared through it, she turned back to Cheerilee and leveled a stern gaze at her. “That wasn’t funny,” she stated tersely. “Yes, yes. I know the rules: Stay away from the dragon, he’s yours,” Cheerilee groaned with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “That isn’t what I mean,” Rarity said. “I’m talking about how everypony in this town somehow has the wrong impression regarding the relationship between Spike and myself. Honestly, we’re just friends. Why is that so hard to grasp?” Cheerilee picked up her glass again and took a tactful sip of her iced tea. “I bet Spike doesn’t feel that way,” came her stark reply. “And I wonder whose fault that would be? Honestly, giving him ideas like that. You aren’t exactly making my life easy yourself.” Rarity sighed her usual theatrical sigh. “I’m a teacher, Rarity,” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s sort of what we do.” “Oh, fair enough,” the unicorn relented with a huff. “That isn’t really what I came to discuss with you, anyway. I wonder if you might be able to tell me about one of the colts in your class. Snips, I believe was his name? Apparently he cut some of the girls’ manes after school on Friday.” “Oh, no,” the educator shook her head gently. “Did you want me to talk to him on Monday?” “No, not at all, dear. I’m perfectly capable of handling that myself. Besides, I think it’s just wonderful. I’ve never seen Sweetie Belle’s mane look quite so spectacular before. Cheerilee, you probably know as much about him as any other pony in town, apart from his parents. Please tell me, how did this amazing talent of his originate?” “Yes, I remember it quite clearly,” Cheerilee said, closing her eyes and imagining the scenario in her mind. “It was raining, so we spent the whole day indoors...” “Okay, class,” Cheerilee announced to the room as she moved to the chalkboard. “Let’s move on to Geometry. It’s time to see who read the assigned pages of the textbook. Now, who can tell me the difference between a quadrilateral and a rectangle?” Most of the students looked slightly uncomfortable at the question, and began flipping through the books on their desks in an attempt to find the answer. Some others in the back of the room didn’t even bother with the question at all, engrossed in whatever conversation they decided was more important than the lesson. Only one pony in the class seemed prepared for the question. She waved her off-white hoof through the air desperately, nearly knocking off her lavender glasses in the process. “Ooh! I know! A quadrilateral is any shape with four sides, but a rectangle is a four-sided shape with four right angles,” she recited with a beaming grin. “Absolutely correct, Twist! Very well done!” Cheerilee gave an approving nod. She returned to her desk and looked through her attendance sheet. “Now then, let’s see. Mr. Escargot, are you ready for your turn?” The orange unicorn seated by the window did not react to the question. He had his head down toward his own desk, fiddling around with something in his hooves. His attention was finally garnered by a nudge in his side by his best friend, who was seated next to him. “Hey, Snails,” Snips whispered to him. “Wake up! Miss Cheerilee is calling you.” “She is?” he said at full volume, drawing a peal of laughter from the rest of the class. He looked to the front of the classroom with a weak smile. “I’m Snails.” “Okay then, Snails,” the teacher said. “Maybe you can tell the class about the relationship between squares and rectangles.” Snails’s eyes darted back and forth between Miss Cheerilee and his desk. He nodded to himself and answered, “Um, is it...rectangles have two pairs of sides that are of equal length, while all four sides of a square are the same length?” “Yes, that is it, Snails. And how are parallelograms related to this?” she asked. She wouldn’t normally single out a student like this, but she had a theory she wanted to test. The unicorn colt looked down again, then back up. “Uh, a parallelogram is like a rectangle, but it doesn’t have right angles.” “Okay...and if you add up the angles in a parallelogram, what would the total be?” Snails froze in shock. He didn’t expect so many questions directed to him. He looked back to his hooves, then at Miss Cheerilee again. Then he ducked under his desk, staring at the ground. “Mr. Snails, I assure you that the answer is not under your desk,” she stated. “It might be,” he replied, peeking up again. “And why is that?” Cheerilee asked with a raised eyebrow. “Well, I ran out of space on my front hooves, so I had to use my back ones.” Snails said with an endearing little grin. He punctuated his statement by holding up his forehooves. As he said, there was a large amount of ink scribblings all over them. The rest of the class once again broke into laughter, while his friend Snips just smiled and shook his head. “Class,” Miss Cheerilee said sternly. As order restored, she walked up to Snails’s desk. “Now, Snails. This is just a lecture, not a quiz. It’s okay for you to take down your notes on paper. I’ll let this slide just this once, because this wasn’t a test. If it were, believe me, you’d be in a lot more trouble.” Snails nodded silently. The teacher smiled back to him as she walked to the front of the classroom. “And for the record, class, the sum of the interior angles of any quadrilateral is always 360 degrees.” The sound of scratching pencils filled the room as the students wrote down the new information in unison. The class continued on in this fashion for about another half hour. Cheerilee passed her desk again, this time glancing at the clock she kept there. The rain was still tapping away at the window, so she turned and addressed the class. “Okay, kids. We’re going to wrap up this lesson, and take a brief recess. Now, since it’s still raining outside, I’ve prepared an arts and crafts activity for today. We’ll be making visual aids to cover the material we’ve learned in the last lesson. Please form an orderly line and circle around the art supply table in the back,” she instructed, pointing to a long table lining the rear of the classroom. “Once you have your supplies, return to your desks, and I will assign you each a shape. Then you’ll prepare a drawing, cut-out, or anything else that represents that shape. The only limit is your imagination.” The students all did as instructed, grabbing a box of crayons, a pair of scissors, some synthetic glue, and a few sheets of paper from the table. Miss Cheerilee marked each student off as they passed her by at the end of table, and gave them each an assigned shape. When she finished handing out the shapes, she returned to her desk and allowed herself a moment’s rest. She relaxed gently as the near hypnotic beat of the rain outside coupled with the scratching and creaking of the students hard at work on their projects. It must have been about ten minutes, when she looked up again, and her eyes were treated to something astounding. One of the desks was surrounded by a powerful light blue aura, and as she drew closer, she could see a pony seated inside. He remained still in his seat, while a solitary sheet of paper floated above him, and a pair of scissors swirled around in the air. It darted in and out around the paper, in what seemed to be an expertly choreographed dance. The scissors gently nipped at the paper, as it folded and creased in previously unseen directions. Eventually the shears and the paper floated back down to the desk and the aura dissipated. “Snips!” Miss Cheerilee exclaimed. “What did you just do? And how?” The blue unicorn colt wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his brow, and looked up at his teacher, unsure if her tone was one of approval or disdain. “Well,” he began, “you told me to my shape was a hexagon, so I tried to come up with something that had that shape. Then it hit me: ‘snowflake.’ But I didn’t want to just draw one. If I was going to make something, I wanted to do something more.” He lifted the shears into the air and twirled them around with his magic. “So I decided that I could use these things to make something even better than a drawing.” Snips set the scissors down again and began the careful task of unfolding the paper. He took extra care not to tear it anywhere. After a few seconds, he held up the final result of his efforts. The snowflake he presented was indeed a six-sided shape, as he was assigned. But the design was anything but simple. Each arm of the flake had nearly a dozen different twists, flowers, swirls and other details, and they all spun around a central swirl of hearts and diamonds. “Whoa, Snips! You made that? That’s awesome!” Snails said from his seat next to him. “That’s really somethin’, Snips,” Apple Bloom said with a little smile, which Snips couldn’t help but return. “Whatever, it’s not that great,” Diamond Tiara said with a superior scoff. Then she turned up her nose in a mocking gesture, which Silver Spoon immediately mirrored. Snips suddenly felt a wash of pride, very happy that everypony (or almost everypony) was praising his talents. He sat up a little taller in his seat, and held his head higher than usual. Miss Cheerilee walked up next to him and place her hoof gently on his shoulder. “Mr. Snips, I am speechless. I have never seen a pony use a pair of scissors the way you just have today. Stick with that, Snips, and I truly believe you can make a powerful mark on this world,” she said in an approving tone. The little blue unicorn soaked in the praise with a massive smile, but he was distracted from his own inner reverie by a cavalcade of gasps pointed straight at him. He followed all of their eyes down to his flank, and that’s when he saw it. There was a blinding flash and a collection of sparks emanating from his lower body. It only took a second to fizzle away, but once it did, he was overjoyed at what had remained. The image of a silver pair of scissors had come to rest on his flank. It was the symbol of his special talent, the goal that he’d been aiming for his entire young life. It was his cutie mark. “YES! Look at that! I got it!” he shouted in excitement. His classmates all cheered loudly for him as he showed it off left and right. Twist and Apple Bloom looked happy for him, but he couldn’t help but notice that there was a pang of disappointment in Apple Bloom’s face. He looked back to Diamond Tiara, and allowed himself a tiny, almost invisible smirk, as he observed the delicious scowl that had adorned her face. “RRGH! I can’t believe that LOSER got his cutie mark before ME!” she groaned. Snips turned back again, expecting the biggest congratulations from his best friend. But his mood was quickly deflated as he took in Snails’s look of utter depression. “I’m...the last one,” he whispered. Snips nodded in realization. He thought it would be something like that, and as Snails continued, his suspicion was confirmed. “I’m the only colt in school with a blank flank.” He got up from his seat and dragged his hooves all the way to the door. Snips bolted upright from his seat and called out to his best friend. “Snails, wait! It’s just a mark, it doesn’t change anything, right? We’re still friends, okay?” The orange unicorn turned back, fighting back tears as he kicked the door open behind him. “Just...leave me alone!” he snapped. “I need time to think.” Without even waiting for a response from his friend, or a command to stay put from his teacher, he was out the door, and gone from the school entirely shortly thereafter. “‘Time to think?’” Diamond Tiara repeated jokingly. “He’ll be gone for a week!” Silver Spoon was the only one who laughed. Some of the students turned back to her and gave her a nasty look. The rest were too preoccupied with the situation with Snails to care. The teacher made a note to herself to deal with Diamond Tiara after class. Snips walked to the front of the classroom, internally debating whether he should follow Snails out into the rain and try to comfort him. Miss Cheerilee came up beside him and massaged his shoulder in compassion. “I just don’t know what I should do,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I know you want to help, Snips. But right now...I think it’s best if you just let Snails be. Just give it a few days, and everything will be back to normal before you know it,” Cheerilee advised. “I hope you’re right, Miss Cheerilee. I really, really do.” “COOOOOOOOOOL!!!!” “Yeah, right there in the middle of a rainy day recess,” Snips wrapped up his story. He had just been working on a little project in the park, when he ran into Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. They had apparently just come back from dropping off Apple Bloom at Sweet Apple Acres. Once that was done, they decided to take a walk to jump-start some ideas for obtaining cutie marks. When they spotted Snips in the middle of a grove of trees, they saw an opportunity to hear another cutie mark story, which Snips was happy to share. “So you got a cutie mark from slinging a pair of scissors around and making a snowflake?” Scootaloo asked skeptically. Snips nodded fervently in reply. “Well, yeah. It took me a long time to understand what Miss Cheerilee meant when she talked about my special talent. These scissors here,” he showed his flank again, “they aren’t just tools of art. They’re tools of change. A pair of scissors can turn anything into just about anything else. Like she said, ‘the only limit is your imagination.’ I believe that in the right set of hooves, a pair of scissors can change the world.” “So, what is it that you’re doing here?” Sweetie Belle pondered as she watched Snips pick up his large gardening shears and turn back to the unruly tree behind him. “Freelance topiary gardening. It’s a hobby of mine. The landscaping crew that maintains the park doesn’t mind at all, as long as I clean up the trimmings when I’m done. Check this out!” He focused his magic into the clippers, and they floated up in the air, taking off at amazing speeds around the tree. He leaned his head slightly this way and that, guiding the tool ever closer to the branches. As the shears snipped away at each unruly bough, the remains followed them, caught up in the wind current caused by their speed. This resulted in a simulated hurricane of leaves and twigs surrounding the tree as Snips kept the shears under his control. Scootaloo continued to gaze on in pure captivation, while Sweetie Belle hid behind the pegasus in an attempt to protect her mane from the gusts of wind brought on by Snips’s efforts. Finally, he was done; he cut off his magic abruptly and his clippers and the trimmings fell to the ground all at once. The blue unicorn turned around and smiled at the two fillies behind him, motioning to the newly trimmed tree. He had crafted a previously overgrown and uncontrolled mess of leaves and branches into a perfectly manicured work of art. The plant sculpture depicted three little fillies balanced on top of each other in dramatic poses, their flashy outfits and eye makeup simulated by expertly flattened and layered leaves. “Hey, that’s us!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “At the talent show! Remember those costumes you designed, Sweetie Belle?” “Yeah...yeah, I do,” the white pony answered hesitantly. “Kinda wish I didn’t though.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sweetie Belle,” Snips said, lifting the debris into a nearby trash bag. “I thought they looked awesome! I really liked the way you all did your hair, too. Yep, that was a really good night. We all got medals! They were really shiny. Hey, how’d the whole ‘comedy’ thing work out for you?” “Well, we’re still sorta working on that,” Scootaloo responded. “Comedy’s more like our safety net. If nothing else we try works, we can always come back to that. Now that I think of it, we haven’t tried this yet, have we Sweetie Belle?” Sweetie Belle shook her head, “No. I don’t think we have. Snips, do you think you could teach us how to ‘topicary’ like that?” Snips tied up the bag and gave them a shrug, “I guess I could give it a try. There’s plenty of trees around here. ‘Topiary’, by the way, Sweetie. Maybe we should hold off on that until tomorrow, though. It’s kinda getting late,” he said, noting the setting sun in the distance. “Oh my gosh, that’s right!” Sweetie gasped. “I was supposed to tell you something! Rarity wants to have you over to dinner tonight! She has something she wanted to ask you. I think it has something to do with my mane.” “Okay....I’m not in trouble, am I?” Snips asked with a little twinge of fear. “Don’t worry about it, Snips,” Scootaloo said. “We were there this morning, and she couldn't stop gushing about it. I think you’ll be fine.” Snips nodded, assured. “Well, okay then. Let me just go tell Snails that we’re leaving.” He took off to another area of the park. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked curiously at each other and soon followed. “That reminds me, Snips,” Sweetie Belle said. “Whatever happened to Snails after you got your cutie mark? He just took off running, right? What about after that?” Snips stopped in his tracks and turned around, his face a mask of deep thought. “I’m not really sure. After school, I looked for him everywhere. But I couldn’t find him. Eventually, I took Miss Cheerilee’s advice, and thought ‘if he doesn’t want to be found, it’s probably better to leave him alone.’” Snips wiped away a small tear and started off walking again. “I was really worried our friendship was ruined. But the very next day, he came back to school, and he had his cutie mark, too! He wouldn’t tell me how, though.” The group arrived at the intended destination. It was a much darker, secluded section of the park. The low hanging trees provided the benefit of shade, and captured any errant moisture from the outside. It was the perfect environment for snails, and predictably this was where they found Snails. He appeared to be laying down, staring intently at the dirt. They got closer to him, and saw that he was following the path of a pair of snails as they crawled slowly across the ground. “Hey, Snails!” Scootaloo greeted. “We were just going to--” “Shhhh!” Snails hushed her harshly, then returned to his intense snail-watching. The bright orange filly glanced at Snips, entirely miffed at Snails’s treatment of her. “Hey, what’s his deal?” she whispered. “I didn’t even do anything!” “He gets like this sometimes,” Snips whispered back. “Just watch for a little while, you’ll see.” They looked over Snails’s shoulder and observed the little critters on the ground, shifting their bodies slowly as they reached across the patch of dirt. After a few minutes, they came up to a relatively giant branch on the ground, which easily matched their height. The two fillies were sure that the snails would not be able to clear it. Sweetie Belle even moved forward, intent on removing the branch from their path. Snips held out his hoof to stop her, though, and gave her an intense look. She acknowledged that this meant that she was not to interfere, and she returned to the spot where she had been standing. They were then shocked to see that the snails had lifted up their bodies, attaching their lower parts to the branch. Slowly but surely, they were both pulling themselves up and over. Snails nodded with the aura on an approving father and stood up to face his friends. “Aren’t they awesome? They don’t move fast, but they’re always moving. And they have these amazingly adhesive lower bodies. It’s like billions of suction cups, all working together. It helps them get over anything. Did you know a snail can even walk along the edge of a samurai sword?” he said, his eyes lighting up with delight. They shook their heads, but Snails wasn’t deterred. “Anyway, they really remind me of me. Like, I’m not as fast or smart as the other colts, I know that. But as long as I never stop moving, and I always go forward, I know I can do anything!” “Snails...” Scootaloo uttered in disbelief. “That just might be the most significant thing I’ve ever heard you say.” “Yep, I’m a wise slug,” Snails said with a happy grin. He then noticed that two fillies were present when he knew there should be three. “Hey, is Apple Bloom not with you girls today?” “Yeah, she’s still holed up on the farm. We had to put a huge hat on her just to drag her out of the Crusader HQ this morning,” Scootaloo said, brushing her hair away in mock frustration. “Oh, you mean the Dash-keteers’ Secret Hideout?” Snails asked. “Hey! What did I tell you? We’re not calling it that!” she replied in very real frustration. Snips walked over beside Scootaloo and gave her a sidelong glance, asking her silently to calm down. “Just let him have it, okay? He’s having a really good day, by the looks of it. Better not to bring him down again. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him later, because yes, we are absolutely not calling it that.” The pegasus still looked a little annoyed, but she sighed and walked away, dropping the conversation altogether. Snips gave her a little pat on the shoulder as thanks, and turned back to Sweetie Belle. “How’s Apple Bloom doing, by the way?” “Still not ready to talk to you yet, sorry. She’ll come around though,” she said, giving the blue unicorn a comforting look. “I think we’re starting to get through to her. So, are you ready to go now?” “Oh yeah, that’s right!” Snips remembered why he came to find his friend. “I gotta get going, Snails. Sweetie Belle invited me to have dinner with her and her sister. I’ll see you around, alright?” “Okay, cool!” Snails replied. “So...what should I do?” “I know!” Scootaloo broke in. “Why don’t you come with me? There’s a few more things I wanted to try today, and I’m going to need somepony to carry my body -- I mean, carry me home, in case something happens.” “You’re going to try to get your cutie mark again? By yourself?” Snails asked, seeming a little confused. Scootaloo looked back at him, not really understanding why he thought that was a big deal. “Well, yeah. Sweetie Belle’s got plans, so there’s no helping that. And Apple Bloom’s having her little horsy-fit right now. If she doesn’t want to come out and crusade with us, that’s her loss, not mine.” “But what if you got your mark today, and she wasn’t there? Won’t she be even more sad?” Snails mused. Snips and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, trying hard to read each other’s expression. It was clear that neither one of them expected the orange unicorn have so much wisdom buried underneath that clueless visage. Scootaloo looked back to them, confused and defeated. “Are we sure this is Snails?” she said to the pair of unicorns. Receiving dual shrugs, the pegasus filly sighed again. “Okay, fine. I’ll go back to Sweet Apple Acres and keep Apple Bloom company for a little while. Hey, Dr. Snails, you coming?” “Uh, sure,” he said with a slow nod. “But, can we go the other way? There’s this really old unicorn in the park who stares at me all the time. Don’t know why, I never did anything to him.” “Oh, you know how old ponies are,” Scootaloo said, nudging Snails in the side. “Most of the time, it’s just envy of youth. I bet it has nothing to do with you at all; he’s probably just mad at himself because of how much his life sucks.” Snails gave her a big grin, thankful that she was trying to cheer him up. He walked past his friend with renewed vigor in his trot. “Okay, I guess we’re out, Snips. I'll see you at home tonight,” he said, giving a little wave. Snips and Sweetie Belle both waved back, as Snails took the trail out of the dense area of the park, followed closely by Scootaloo. She quickly took off ahead of him with a superior smirk on her face. Snails took the silent challenge and started running after her. Sweetie turned to Snips with a curious look. "What did he mean, 'at home tonight?'" "Oh yeah, that. I'm kinda staying with Snails and his parents while my Dad's out of town," Snips explained. "They've been really nice, but I'll be glad when he comes home again." After an understanding nod from Sweetie Belle, the two little ponies turned in the other direction and together, headed for Carousel Boutique.