Starswirl the Snowman
One should always appreciate the sound of clopping hooves. Applause is one of the best things one can hear when performing onstage. It urges you onward to keep doing more, and in doing more you earn more applause. A vicious cycle that either side can end with a thrown vegetable or saying "That's all!" And yet the cycle persists because both performer and audience want more.
This applause didn't last as long or as loud as my Manehatten shows, but one learns not to appreciate quantity as much regarding it. Applause is applause is applause.
I took a starting bow in appreciation, and began my show a bit differently than they remembered.
Way differently than I remember.
As my horn glowed, the space around the stage became colder.
"Long ago, I was part of a traveling caravan that visited all parts of the world. Our travels took us to the Far North."
Small clouds formed overhead, and little snowflakes began falling.
"It was there that we faced some of the most frigid temperatures in the world. 'Cold' is hardly a fitting description. No, it was so chilly that our hooves were not unlike ice cubes!"
A thick layer of snow soon piled at my hooves as the snow intensified. The chill sent waves of shivers through my audience.
"In such a harsh environment, adaptability was key to survival, and the Ice Ponies of the North are well-deserving of their title."
I whipped the snow at my hooves into a flurry before reforming them into various objects: houses, shovels, and miniature Earth ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi. They used the miniature shovels to clear away the snow from the houses.
"Ooh"s and "aah"s were my reception. None of them were expecting this, because this wasn't just magic, at least not in the way I’ve done in my shows before with enchanted props and knick-knacks.
A simpler magic, one that doesn't even need magic to be magical.
This was storytelling, and Luna and Celestia were completely enveloped in it as their smiles widened and eyes glimmered with curiosity and wonder.
Their interest is yours, Swirl. Keep it up.
“Living in an everlasting winter, every day they dealt with ice and snow. While most would consider it a detriment, they considered it a way of life. And from it, each type of pony had gained newfound strength in the face of their adverse environment.”
The frozen diorama of ponies working in the cold shifted to a mid-size Pegasus flying through a harsh blizzard.
“Pegasi born here could withstand icy lows that those born in warmer climates could not, and harnessed this strength to combat and control the northern skies.”
The Pegasus landed, and folded its its wings. Seamlessly, the wings merged with the body as the Pegasus became an Earth pony. The remaining snow shifted into a large mass of ice, which the pony bucked away with ease.
“Earth ponies could shift entire glaciers with mere kicks of their hooves, shifting the frigid wastes into sturdy, insurmountable walls that buffered the harsh winds aiming for their villages.”
Another shift as the snow pony turned to face the audience and grew a horn, glowing the same silver as mine as the snow whirled around in a tempest stemming from the tip of the horn.
“And Unicorns? They were blessed with learning how to bend cold and chill to their will, fine-tuning the work of others and crafting sturdy shelters in mere minutes. It is from these stalwart and steadfast ponies that ice magic even exists today.”
In a flash of silver light, all the snow and ice I summoned vanished, and what little cold remained was banished by the sun’s warming glow. Everypony shook their coats free of any remaining snow, but I left some more on Luna and Celestia.
Little steps of revenge.
“Now, a few of you might be wondering what this story has to do with anything. Well, among the many things that they have contributed to the world of magic, one of their most famous things is a treat that many children love, and even a few adults too.”
Producing a small paper cone, my horn glowed again and I crafted a small snowball hovering in the air before plopping it onto the cone.
"And that, my friends, is the humble snow cone."
Luna and Celestia's eyes grew wide at the mention of my frosty treat.
"Ooh ooh, is it like ice cream?" Celestia asked.
"No, though if I had to compare, it would be closest to a sorbet." I hovered a small pitcher of apple juice over to my cone and poured a bit over it in a light drizzle.
"Now then, who wants a snow come?"
"Ooh, pick me!"
"No, pick me!"
"I could go for one too."
"Hey, does he even have enough cups for all of us?"
And I forgot I had a sizeable audience.
"Hold on, everypony. I believe these two in the front wanted it first. Why don't you both come onstage."
Suddenly both princesses ceased their bickering, and looked around them at all the ponies staring at them.
Minor pressure compared to what's to come.
And yet this pressure was enough to make them very uncomfortable. They needed some reassurance.
"Come on, you two. Everypony here knows you, so there's little to fear. Come on up here. Everything will be fine, I promise."
Upon hearing my voice and seeing my earnest smile, I could feel their burden lift off their shoulders long enough for them to spread their wings and land in front of me.
"Ladies and gentlecolts, please give them a round of applause."
The clopping hooves did exactly what I wanted them to. In light of the cheers and noises, whatever fears they had in their minds faded away as they eagerly looked at me and my snow cone.
"Now then, my students, as you can see, I've only one snow cone, but two contenders. While normally this would be a problem, there's actually a simple solution to the matter.
"And that, my friends, is for them to make their own."
Gasps and whispers, with the loudest gasps from Luna and Celestia.
"What? But we can't do that kind of magic!" Luna squealed.
I shook my head. "To the contrary, elemental magic is one of the easiest to learn. Difficult to master, yes, but easy to learn."
Craning my head downward, I stuck it in between the fillies' worried faces and whispered, "Just try to imagine something cold. Think about that as hard as you can. It's that easy."
Not really, but they'll figure the rest out. I'm sure of it.
"Is it really that easy, Mea--I mean, Starswirl?" Celestia asked.
Reassure, but let them do the work.
"I can only say it's easy for so long before you two try it for yourselves."
They blinked, and meekly nodded, but they still had doubt in their minds. I raised my head to address the audience once more.
"They're still a little nervous, folks. I think they need one more round of applause!"
More cheers, and even a whistle from their mother was added into the mix. That perked them right up.
"Are you two ready?" They nodded. "Then let's make some snow cones."
I brought out a tray from behind the curtain and set the first cone down in it. I produced three more cups, and hovered one in front of me, the others in front of the fillies.
"I'll start just to show you the right size, alright?"
They nodded, so I set to work. My thoughts took me back to the cold, harsh blizzard in the north.
~~~
The fierce wind buffeted the caravan, tipping one of the wagons over. My wagon, of course. We had to proceed without it; despite it holding most of our warmer gear (and my props), it would take too much time getting it out otherwise.
"We have to leave it, Starswirl. Come, we must keep moving." Her voice, even in this howling wind, still reached my ears.
"But my props are in there! How can I--"
"They're just things, Starswirl. Things we can replace. At least we didn't lose you in the wagon too. You're much more difficult to replace, aren't you?"
I bit my lip. That's true. Argh, why does she have to make such good arguments?
Then she smiled. "Careful you don't blush too much, Starswirl. You'll freeze faster that way."
"I-I know that!" I huffed, a puff of hot breath fogging my vision for a second. She giggled before trotting off after the rest of the caravan.
She always does that. Leaving the conversation just as I thought of a retort. I took longer to think of it because of this blizzard, but I had one ready just now!
Probably wasn't worth it, Swirl. She's usually right about things like this.
I barely had time to look at my wagon for one second before it was consumed by snow. I didn't wish to share its fate, so I followed after my mentor.
~~~
I opened my eyes. The snowball I crafted floated in front of me. Not perfect, but I didn't expect it to be.
Yet I was genuinely surprised to see two more snowballs floating next to mine. And two of the widest smiles I've ever seen.
"We did it, Luna!"
"We did it, Celestia!"
Amid their own cheers, applause rose from the audience that I didn't have to goad out. I smiled, then reached back behind the curtains for some syrup when--
SPLAT
--a snowball was firmly planted in my face.
Then another from the other side.
Oh. It. Is. On!
~~~
I sat neck-deep in the bathtub, willing as much of this chill away as I could. I had more hot towels wrapped around my face than you could imagine, looking not unlike a severe burn victim.
Only I'm contending with freezer burn, and these towels didn't seem to be doing a single thing. Neither was the water all that helpful as I continued shivering in rage-induced fits.
Not even ten minutes after they start a snowball fight and they summon an avalanche of snow on me. Those fillies learn faster than I expected. Too fast.
Another shiver and an opening door forced me from my thoughts. I heard stifled laughter. Familiar laughter.
"Well, aren't you a hot mess! And here I thought your makeover made my day this morning!"
Makeover? When did they... oh gods, THAT maid!
I ripped some of the towels off my face to confirm my suspicions. It was indeed the same maid I saw this morning.
"Y-You! What are you doing in here?!"
She stifled a chuckle. "I brought you some more towels. Had a feeling you needed them after your tragic snowball fight." She set the towels next to the tub, ignoring the glare I gave her the whole time. "You should know not to take on two rambunctious fillies at the same time."
"Hmph. And what do you know about Celestia and Luna?" I asked, crossing my hooves.
She waved a hoof dismissively. "Enough to know to not draw their ire and stay out of their way. They're like bees on a thievin' Ursa."
Not a wholly inaccurate description of those two... and me.
I snorted. "You got that right. This ice still stings like I fought a swarm of bees and lost."
Then the maid did something unexpected. She dipped one of her hooves into the water, then quickly withdrew it, shivering slightly.
"Well, no wonder you're complaining about the cold. The water's not even lukewarm! I'll go fetch some more!"
She bolted away in a flash. I didn't even have time to tell her I could have reheated the water myself.
Eh, I'll let her do it. I've had enough with magic for today.
~Celestia~
"S-S-S-So c-c-cold!" Luna spoke through violently chattering teeth.
"I-I-I know, s-s-sister!" I replied, my teeth chattering faster than hers.
Why did that snow have to be so cold?! Meanbeard covered us from head to hoof in the stuff, and we didn't even play for a whole ten minutes! He's such a jerkhead!
A hot waterfall of water fell over both of us as our mother kept bathing us.
"Now now you two. You both had this coming to you. You started the fight, after all."
"But Meanbeard ended it!"
"He ruined our fun!"
"It's not fair!" We crossed our hooves and pouted.
Mother sighed and put a hoof to her head before smiling warmly at us.
"Sometimes the world isn't fair, my little daughters. Things may not go your way, and there may be nothing you can do to stop them."
Mother brushed Luna's mane and held her chin up with a hoof. "It is in those moments that you must learn to stand taller than ever before, Luna."
She then lifted my chin. "It is those moments where you must smile your widest so that others may not frown, my dear Celestia."
She then let our chins go, only we didn't let them fall.
"Remember to stay strong, you two. Not just for yourselves, but for each other."
I nodded, but noticed that Luna didn't do the same, as if something was on her mind.
"You're leaving tonight, aren't you?"
I jolted my head over to face Luna, then back to Mother. Her expression went from warm to stoic.
She's leaving?! And Luna knew and didn't tell me?!
"You... you can't be leaving now! You promised you'd stay for one more day!"
"I'm sorry, sweeties. We've spent all the time we could with you, but we absolutely must depart tonight, and can't stay any longer."
No! No, they can't leave! We'll... we'll be alone with Meanbeard and all the stuffy servants!
"Please, don't go!" My cheeks felt wet as tears began falling.
She sighed. "Celestia, if we could stay, we would. But this meeting with the griffons is really important for maintaining peaceful relations with them, and we can't afford to miss it.
"I know this is hard for you to accept, my eldest. But this must be done for the greater good of Equestria's relations with Gryphonia." Mother cast her head off to the side for a moment before returning to us. "I promise thee both, we will return as soon as we can."
A knock at the door came. "Queen Aura? I'm afraid it's time to go. The king's waiting at the chariot."
"Just one more moment," she answered before turning back to us. "I won't leave my children sopping wet and shivering like this. Let's get you two dried off and tucked in."
~Starswirl~
"Agh! Too hot! Too hot!"
Why didn't I just heat the water myself? Now she's making me into pony stew!
"Oh, quit your blubberin'! This water's not even boiling."
"Says the pony who's dumping it on me while I--AAAGH--boil like a potato!"
I had enough, and leaped out of the tub. I shook my body as much as I could to cool my coat, not caring in the slightest that some of this dreadful water landed on her.
The maid rolled her azure eyes. "Well, at least you're not freezing anymore, right? And you're welcome for the hot water, by the way."
I grunted and kept shaking, before realising that I shook a bit too much water out, and my legs began shaking from the cold.
Great, freeze or burn. Which is it, Swirl?
Neither. "E-Excuse me, miss, but do you have any colder water?"
She looked at me as if I'd just asked the dumbest question in the world. "Why don't you just use that snow magic of yours? Odds are I'll clearly bring you water that's too cold, Goldilocks."
Wow, compared to a picky children's book character. That's a whole new level of low blows.
I considered an insult or some witty retort, but that seemed likely to spur another fearsome foe. That's the last thing I needed considering I had two on my hooves already.
You're considering children as formidable foes now? Okay, that's a new low of self-insults.
I gritted my teeth. "I'm sorry. I... I don't trust my magic tonight. So, please."
She stood there, contemplating my freezing frame for a moment. I caught the faintest trace of a smirk on her face. She knew she had me at my mercy.
It felt like a year had passed before she responded with a gentle, forgiving smile. "Apology accepted. I'll get another bucket."
And in a small puff of dust, she was gone.
~~~
"Are you ready to go, Aura?"
"I am, Tidus... You should have said goodbye too, you know."
"You know how I feel about goodbyes. I don't like them. I don't like leaving the impression that we'll be gone for good."
"But what if--"
"We won't be, Aura. I fully intend on seeing my daughters alive and well. You should think the same."
"...And what about Starswirl?"
"I told him about our plans. He deserved the truth before we left."
"He knew we were going to leave earlier than we said, didn't he?"
"Somewhat. He had his suspicions since the show, but kept them reserved, close to his chest, as it were."
"Then he's now aware of--"
"Yes, though he's strongly voiced his concerns in the event that it happens."
"And what did you tell him, Tidus?"
"That we have safeguards set in place. Safeguards that long existed before he came here. He needed not the extra worry."
"You didn't tell him that we altered the safeguards though."
"...I learned from the best. Now, shall we get going?"
“Yes, de--eugh!”
“Hm? Is something wrong, Aura?”
"What's that smell?"
"It's nothing, dear."
"It's not nothing, Tidus! Your breath stinks. Did you eat the radishes again?"
"...maybe. Just one before we left. No big deal, right?"
"Just one? You still have more on you! I can smell them right now!"
"N-No, I don't have any! No, don't touch me! I swear I--uh..."
"...you're a terrible liar, Tidus."
"Only to you! Please, don’t throw them out of the--"
“Too late, dear.“
“Aw… I’m going to miss those…”