Snails was supposed to have gone to sleep at least an hour ago. It certainly would’ve been easy for him. He was wearing his red footie pajamas and lying under a sheet, comforter, and three layers of quilts to protect him from the winter storm brewing outside. But the lanky, tan unicorn colt had spotted something that was unusual for the winter months.
It absorbed his attention. In the upper right corner on the ceiling above his bed was a small spider web that had been spun since his mother cleaned last.
Snails knew the gray long-legged spider sitting in the web was a harmless to ponies- Daddy Long-legs. But what kept him from sleeping was trying to remember its scientific name. Last field trip to the library he had snuck a peek at a book about Arachnoids, and he took some pleasure pronouncing the long fancy words ponies had given the spiders. He knew he had looked this spider up, but as he gazed at the tiny creature in the dim light he produced with his horn, the name escaped him. Pholcus phal..?
He had been aware of the hushed voices of his parents in their room next to his, but hearing his name spoken made his ears focus on the words. Their voices were still too soft to make out, but his curiosity was peaked. He crept out of bed, shuddering a little in the stale cold air outside his bed, and he tiptoed to the wall separating his and his parents’ room plus pressed his ear against it.
“He has his cutie mark, it’ll all work out,” Snails’ father was saying.
“But we don’t know how he got it! And I worry that his passion in life is ‘taking things slow’. How can he make a career with that? Whom can he apprentice under?” his mother’s worried voice chittered.
“Maybe a massage therapist? Or a guidance counselor?” his father tried to suggest.
“But he’s not good with dealing with others! I just don’t know what to do with my colt…”
Snails sighed quietly and tiptoed back to bed. His mother was always trying to give him different stuff to do, and always looked worried when he didn’t seem interested so this conversation made a lot of sense. But finding out what he wanted to do with his talent always seemed so grown up. He was still a colt. He would worry about that later.
“Pholcus phalangioides!” he muttered to himself, as the name for the spider finally came to him. Cozy under the covers, he finally drifted off to sleep.
***
Snips had a full belly- he had eaten two servings of his Mom’s best-in-the-world Oatmeal that contained many dried fruits, chopped apple, walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Maybe the other little colts would’ve flinched at the presence of raisins in their food, but to Snips it just added to the Oatmeal harmony. Usually breakfast was enough to keep him warm for the day, but today it was snowing- so Snips got to break out his favorite navy and custard hat plus scarf combo that he thought looked best against his pale-green fur.
He was trying to decide whether he wanted to tie his scarf so the ends went over one shoulder or both when his mother called from the next room.
“SNIPS! Snails is here!”
“Coming Ma!” he answered, quickly flinging the loose ends of his scarf over one shoulder as he left his room.
“Are you sure you won’t need a sweater?” the chubby emerald-coated unicorn asked when she saw her little colt.
“I’m sure, Ma.”
“Don’t forget your snowshoes!” she added while levitating a ‘Trixie the magnificent’ lunchbox to her son with her magic.
“I was just about to put them on!” he whinnied, stashing the lunchbox into a saddlebag. Since he wasn’t good enough to do it with his magic yet, Snips pulled on his little yellow shoe boots with his hooves and got a goodbye kiss from his mom before racing outside to meet Snails.
“Yo dude!” Snips called out.
“Yo,” Snails answered, bro-hoofing his friend. It was freezing in the two feet of snow that covered Ponyville, but Snails always preferred to wait outside. Snips was okay with that, as his Ma was embarrassing, but in the winter it seemed silly. Snails was also dressed for cold weather, wearing a plum and evergreen scarf and hat set that Snips had given him two Hearts Warming Eves ago. It went very well with Snails’ yellow coat and light green mane. Snips envied his friend’s long legs as they kept Snails above the snow, which occasionally brushed Snips’ belly as he walked. It sure was chilly.
Snails, a slow talker in most cases, seemed to slow even more in the wintertime, walking around like a pony half asleep. Snips didn’t understand it. Wintertime was awesome! Hot cocoa, snowball fights, snow forts, and one other reason he wouldn’t tell anypony, lest he be teased half to death.
They crunched through the snow silently for a minute before Snips became bored.
“That homework load last night was the worst! I think Miss Cheerilee is trying to kill us!”
“Uh-huh,” Snails replied.
“Do you think she’ll give us a pop-quiz today?
“Uh-huh.”
“And then space invaders will come and kidnap Trixie so she’ll make her outfit for them.”
“Uh-huh.” Snails, trudging on through the snow, failed to notice his friend fall behind. He did notice the cold, hard, and wet, sensation that hit his flank and crumbled on impact.
“Hey!” Snails shouted in surprise, whirling around to see another snowball barely miss him. Much more awake now, the colts started scrambling around the snow to make more snowballs, hiding behind trees and laughing hard.
They were very late for class.
***
Snails probably would’ve gotten better grades in his math class if he didn’t spend his time adding legs to his numbers instead of adding the numbers together. But he couldn’t help making his eights into spiders and his ones into centipedes.
“Five minutes left, class,” Miss Cheerilee called out from her desk in front of the chalkboard. Snails was in trouble. All the extra lines made it hard to remember what the numbers actually were. Around him the eleven other students in their small one-roomed classroom seemed finished. Even Snips seemed relaxed.
Snails squinted at the bugs on his paper, trying to remember what numbers they used to be. Snails’ father had warned him that one more bad test and he wouldn’t get dessert until he brought his grades up and who knew when that would be? Reluctantly he erased the extra lines, missing the bugs already. The clock above the chalkboard said he had three minutes left. Furiously, he scrambled to answer as many problems as he could.
“Pencils down class,” his magenta furred teacher called out. Snails had only managed to complete the first four problems out of twenty this time. Quickly he wrote random numbers for the rest of the questions. The purple earth pony filly behind him tapped her test impatiently on his shoulder. Adding his to the pile, Snails passed the test sheets forward, he squirming in his seat.
School was the worst. In addition to having poor grades, Snails was uncomfortable at his desk. His long limbs didn’t fit as neatly in his seat as they used to. He was big for his age, he told himself. He didn’t want to admit it, but most ponies his size with their cutie marks had already moved on to their pony apprenticeships. Sure, some ponies returned to class on odd days if advanced subjects were needed for their job, but most stayed away.
The nastiest thing about ponies being at different levels in the same class was that many ponies around you had different tests. Snails couldn’t even cheat a little to bring his grade up. Goodbye desserts.
“Okay class, today I’m continuing our series of career talks with a special guest. Please get your notebooks ready while I see if she’s here,” Miss Cheerilee said. Papers shuffled around and hushed conversation broke out while she walked to the school’s front door. Snails had a wonderful thought.
“Do you think its Trixie?” he whispered to Snips in the seat to his right. The periwinkle Magician mare hadn’t been to Ponyville in a while. Snails and Snips were big fans of the mare- she reminded Snails of one of his favorite insects- the Orchid Mantis.
“I wish! These plebes never invite her wonderful-ness, though,” Snips whispered back.
“More like her lame-ness,” the orange pegasus Scootaloo whispered from in front of Snips. “Rainbow Dash is way-“
She was interrupted by Cheerilee’s loud shout from outside the classroom.
“WHAT? But you promised!” The entire class went quiet, but the reply was so soft it was barely recognizable as words. Cheerilee seemed to understand the pony anyway.
“Of course you’re a good enough guest- listen, you don’t want to teach these kids that breaking promises is okay, do you?”
Whether or not there was a reply was uncertain, but Cheerilee re-entered the room with her usual confidence.
“Class, please welcome my friend Fluttershy.”
The yellow pony that entered the classroom was one that Snails had seen around town before. The butterflies that made up her cutie mark had interested him enough to see if he could find look-a-likes in the edges of town last spring, but he had been unsuccessful. He still wasn’t sure pink butterflies existed outside of illustrations.
“H-hello, everypony,” Fluttershy address the class, her pink mane guarding her eyes as her head titled downwards.
“HELLO FLUTTERSHY!” the class chorused together. Fluttershy seemed to flinch at the noise. Cheerilee put a reassuring hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder and smiled at the mare.
“I’m sure many of you have seen Fluttershy around town, especially those of you old enough to join in the Animal team during Winter Wrap-up, but I’m sure not many of you know what exactly she uses her special talent for. Fluttershy, would you explain?”
“Oh. Um, yes. My job in Ponyville is a Critter Rehabitator. It means I provide care to sick, injured, and orphaned creatures so they can be returned to their natural habitat. Or, in some cases, a home with ponies who’d like a friend.”
Snails wasn’t really interested in bunnies or whatever cuddly creature she was talking about, so he let his mind tune out what she was saying. He was wondering if maybe he could get away with playing paper football with Snips when a gleam caught his eye. From the schoolhouse rafters, a tiny spider was propelling itself down on an almost transparent strand of webbing. Entranced, he watched the brown spider spool lower and lower, wondering what kind it was- until it was an inch away from the face of a certain pink filly wearing a tiara.
The screech woke the class from the spell Fluttershy’s soft voice had placed over them.
“SPIDER! Please, Someone SQUISH IT! Squish it NOW!” Diamond Tiara screamed. Her gray filly friend Silver Spoon and many other ponies joined in the panic as the tiny spider landed on the desk and dodged hooves that slammed down towards it. Snails quickly grabbed his Trixie thermos cup and raced over to it, pushing colts away until he was in the path of the retreating spider. Sweetie Belle had one hoof ready to end the arachnid when Snails plopped the cup over the spider, trapping it underneath.
“Leave it alone!” he shouted. The class looked at him, stunned.
“It’s a spider! It’s gross!” Silver Spoon argued.
“It wasn’t gonna do anything to you!” he argued back. “Miss Cheerilee, can I have a piece of paper?” Miss Cheerilee looked glad for an opportunity to get her class under control again.
“Yes, of course. Everypony else, go back to your seats please. Fluttershy, are you ready for questions?”
“Yes,” the mare squeaked in reply. Snails slid the paper Cheerilee handed him under his cup, and somehow got a squirt of purple magic out of his horn to levitate cup and paper together. He scampered outside, ignoring the freezing landscape around him and circled the schoolhouse to the back, where a pile of firewood lay stacked against the wall. Gently, he put the paper and cup down next to the wood, gasping as he released his magic. Snails wished his magic didn’t take up so much energy. He wanted to have magic like Trixie someday- or maybe Twilight Sparkle. Effortless.
Catching his breath, he grabbed his cup with his mouth and stepped back. The spider stood still a moment, so as not to catch a predator’s eye with any sudden movement. Then it skittered under the woodpile out of Snails’ sight. He hoped it would be okay out here in the cold.
***
Fluttershy’s baby blue and lavender scarf had grabbed Snips’ attention. Even from his seat in the third row, he saw the evenly spaced knits and pearls that had gone into each stripe. It hung on the clothes rack now, but when Fluttershy had walked in he admired the way she doubled her insulation for her neck and head by tucking her mane under her scarf. And with her mane held down, it allowed the fuzzy white earmuffs on top of her head to pop. She was a fashionable pony, but now that the outerwear was gone and with the excitement of the spider rescue new, Snips had trouble paying attention to her.
Snips was awe-struck by his friend! He had raced across the room and stood over that poor spider like a superhero. Snips preferred having his Mom move spiders out of his presence, so that fact that Snails could protect and move one while the entire school wanted it dead was almost Trixie-cool! He couldn’t wait for school to end so he could talk to Snails all about it. It was a little less than a year away, but Snips couldn’t stop daydreaming about the superhero costumes he could make for next Nightmare Night.
The door squeaked open, and everyone glanced at Snails before a cough from Miss Cheerilee drew the attention back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy answered the next question, but Snips couldn’t help noticing her eyes kept flicking over to Snails, even after his friend had been seated a while. Ha ha! Snails was so masculine and awesome he was even attractive to a full grown mare! Soon Snails would have so many fillies after him he’d have to keep the ones he didn’t want away with a stick.
“Just send ‘em my way, buddy,” He muttered.
“Did you have a question, Snips?” Miss Cheerilee asked in a voice to suggest he’d better ask one or clam up.
“No ma’am!”
“Thank you, Fluttershy, for talking with us today.”
“THANK YOU FLUTTERSHY!” the class cheered together.
“Oh, you’re welcome,” Fluttershy replied with a tiny smile. She re-adorned herself with her winter clothes, and, with one last quick glance at Snails, left the school building.
“And that wraps up class for the week! Before I let you go, I want to talk to you about your weekend assignment,” Cheerilee announced. Snips and Snails groaned in tandem with a few other ponies, but Cheerilee ignored it.
“I would like you to interview and write a report on an adult pony with a job you admire that isn’t related to you. My hope is that this will help those of you without Cutie Marks find a path you may not have considered before.”
“Miss Cheerilee!” Diamond Tiara raised her hand like it gave her permission to talk, and continued speaking without the teacher’s go ahead. “I know I want to inherit my Daddy’s business someday, so why do I have to talk with somepony else?”
“That is a good question, Diamond Tiara. Those of you with Cutie Marks may know what you want to do when you grow up, but often there are many more sides to a talent than what you might think. For instance, everypony knows Pinkie Pie’s Cutie Mark is about bringing joy to everypony, and she chose to express that through her Party Planning and her apprenticeship with the Cakes. But with that talent Pinkie could have just as easily become a businesspony like your father, Diamond Tiara. A pony who strives to make others happy and has good pony skills could-and has done great business.”
Snips chuckled at the image of Pinkie Pie in a gray business suit with her mane in a falling apart bun in his head. He could easily see her answering phones, throwing board “parties”, and screeching, “Wouldn’t it be fun to SELL SELL SELL!”
“So I want those of you with Cutie Marks to think about what careers could be related to your Mark when you pick who you want to interview, and to stay away from your immediate family. Ten pages on lined paper, in cursive, everypony!” The ponies began to gather their things as Miss Cheerilee rang the schoolhouse bell.
“Do you think Trixie will come to town this weekend?” Snails asked his friend.
“Naw, she’s doing a show in Las Pegasus, remember? Besides, everypony knows we love Trixie.” Snips replied.
“Oh yeah. Darn, who am I gonna interview then?”
Snips knew whom he wanted to interview, and it wasn’t Trixie. If word came out that he idolized the mare he was thinking of, his street cred would be ruined forever. It was kinda silly, but he’d hoped that she’d notice his work and take him on as her apprentice without his saying a word beside “yes”. Being discovered wouldn’t harsh his street cred. Asking would.
“Snips! Snails! Don’t go anywhere. Remember you have detention for being late this morning,” Miss Cheerilee reminded her misfit students. Snips leaned back in his desk and began to pull his notebook out of his saddlebag again- he and Snails were used to the detention parade.
Just one voice outside the building made him regret the snowball fight that had made being late worth it.
“Sweetie Belle! I had some free time, darling, so I thought I’d come pick you up!”
“Rarity!” the pale gray-coated unicorn filly greeted her joyfully. Snips raced to the window, and spotted the dazzling white unicorn mare with the curled purple mane. As his breath began to fog the glass, he stared in awe at her winter outfit: a tailored dark magenta trench coat and elegant black snowshoes, topped off with a navy cloche hat. It was all made by the Fashionista herself: Rarity.
Snips swiped away some of the mist on the window to get a better view. It was obvious Sweetie Belle admired and wanted the same talent as Rarity, but Snips doubted she’d ever go beyond basic knowledge of fashion. Rarity needed an apprentice that intuitively knew what went best on a pony. If only she’d notice him.
“Fluttershy? What are you doing here, darling? I hear the snow’s going to fall harder soon.” Snips watched the yellow pegasus peel away from the wall of the school building. It had been a while since Fluttershy’s speech in class, and she didn’t have a sibling in the class. All kidding aside, she had been watching Snails a lot in class. Was Fluttershy waiting for him? What could she possibly want with him?
“Oh, I was a guest today,” she explained to Rarity. As the mares chatted, Snips realized that with few of his classmates around to notice and tease him, now was the best time to possibly chat with Rarity about the class paper. Without dressing warmly or grabbing his bag, Snips galloped for the door.
“Where are you going, Snips?”
“Potty break, Miss Cheerilee! He yelled as he opened the door and stumbled through the snow. Perhaps that was his first mistake, as the shout and his speed seemed to attract attention. His left back hoof managed to ruin any class to his approach, as it slipped on a wet stone, and Snips was on his belly in the snow.
“Oh goodness! Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked, offering a fore hoof. Why was she helping him? Was Snips wrong, had she been staring at him during class? No, this pony was the Element of Kindness. She’d help anyone.
“I’m fine! Really,” Snips answered, avoiding making eye contact with his giggling classmates that were still present.
“Why ever did you need to rush…Snips, was it?” Rarity asked. Snips nodded enthusiastically.
“And look at you! You’re shivering! Don’t you have winter wear?” Rarity hovered a long ruffled maroon scarf from her saddlebag and draped it over Snips’ neck. “I felt a little warm earlier so I wasn’t using it- you can borrow this for now.”
“Thank you, Miss Rarity!” Snips’ smile filled his face, and he felt his checks grow hot. Rarity was talking to him! Even though he’d made a fool of himself. Would she really want to help an oaf like him? He needed a more subtle approach.
“Can we go now Rarity?” Sweetie Belle whined at her sister while fidgeting.
“I wanted to talk to Sweetie Belle!” He and Sweetie Belle hung out with different ponies, so they didn’t know each other well, but maybe getting close to Sweetie Belle could get him closer to Rarity.
“What?” the filly yelped. She didn’t look pleased at this turn of events. Snips started feeling the snow in the recesses of his hooves and shuffled them to keep them warm.
“Do you think, ummm... maybe I could…” His eyes slipped from Sweetie Belle and caught Rarity’s. All of his thoughts slipped from his mind. The mare smiled at him like the cat that caught the canary.
“What’s this, Sweetie? Do you have an admirer?” Her sapphire eyes looked from the colt to the filly expectantly. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon giggled- Snips hadn’t noticed they were still there.
“No way!” Sweetie Belle denied.
“Now Sweetie, let’s not be so indelicate to the colt.”
Snips’ lower lip trembled under his large front incisor teeth. He had no idea what he could say to make Rarity like him, and be not thought of as a pansy by his classmates.
“CouldIcomeoverandplaytomorrow?” he mumbled.
“What?” the sisters asked together.
“Could I come over and play tomorrow?” he repeated louder than he would’ve liked.
“But of course!” Rarity beamed. Sweetie Belle looked annoyed at her sister.
“Rar~ity!” she whined. But her sister was in her own world.
“We could have a little tea party- or would cocoa be better in this weather? I just had some cocoa beans imported, it’ll be divine! We’ll have to stop by Sugar Cube corner for some snacks.”
“Rarity, I don’t want-“ Sweetie Belle tried to protest again.
“Stop by anytime after one. See you tomorrow, darling!”
Snips couldn’t get enough of the scent of orchid that wafted from the scarf. He had an in! With any hope tomorrow he could get an interview for class- and maybe an apprenticeship!
***
Snails’ was sulking a little. Usually, detention lasted longer because he and Snips would pass notes while Cheerilee’s back was turned. Today, Snips barely paid him any attention. Ever since he came back indoors he would write a line of the essay Cheerilee assigned them, smell the scarf he didn’t have on before, and sigh, staring off into space for a while. Snails had gotten way more of the essay done than Snips.
“Psst! Snips!” he whispered as Cheerilee stepped into the supply closest. “What’s wrong with you?” Snips jolted alert, forgetting to whisper as he responded.
“Huh? Nothing’s wrong! I’m good! I like activities STALLIONS like!”
“I didn’t ask you about that.”
“I don’t hear writing in there!” Miss Cheerilee warned from the supply closet. Snips and Snails went back to writing frantically.
Soon an hour passed, and the colts were ready to go home. Even though Snails finished writing first, he waited for Snips. It didn’t matter that his friend was acting weird, Snails still didn’t want to walk home by himself.
“Are you colts going to be okay walking home by yourself? The snow’s getting pretty heavy now,” Miss Cheerilee asked, her eyes watching the snow drifting across her window.
“We’re not colts, Miss Cheerilee, WE’RE STALLIONS!” Snips declared. Miss Cheerilee held back a chuckle.
“Well, okay then, but be careful!”
“We will!”
Snips and Snails didn’t live far from their school. If they had, Miss Cheerilee likely would have insisted on walking them her self. Snails had wanted to check on the spider in the woodpile, but he sensed speed in his friend’s gait that meant he wanted to hurry home.
It was pretty cold out. His mother had warned him not to get home too late because the weather team was kicking up a storm that evening. Probably there wouldn’t be any bugs to watch in the snow, so Snails wanted to rush home too.
The lack of bugs made Snails so bored in the winter- every other season was more fun. It was one lazy spring weekend that had been his favorite.
That day, the ground had still been wet from the rain that had gone on that night. He had started splashing in puddles- even though his mother had told him not to- as he enjoyed the ‘splosh’ sounds his hooves made as they touched the water and watching rings ripple out as the puddle settled down. Sometimes the sun would even reflect mini rainbows in them.
After the twelve or so puddles in Ponyville’s park, Snails’ eyes caught a purple dewy shell down the road. As he stepped closer, he found the spiraled shell held a little pink snail, leaving a glistening trail behind it. He was just fascinated by all the tiny rippling muscles in the one form. On his parents’ way to get him from the stork, his Mom said she saw one in their garden glistening in the morning dew- a snail. His mom said he almost ate one as a baby, but he only remembered seeing them in picture books before.
The snail didn’t seem to notice the tall colt standing over it, and just slimed on. The tiny little stalks coming out of the top of the front part interested him too. Gently, he poked one with a fore hoof and was amused to see it sink into its body. That was fun to watch! Multiple poking made the snail tuck entirely into its shell. He felt a little bad for bothering it, and stepped away.
It stayed in its shell a bit longer before it eased out and continued the path it had been on before. Snails watched in fascination the snail’s little movements and was so attentive he missed the beat of hooves on the dirt. It was only when the gray fore hoof began to lower into his vision that he noticed and raced forward, head-butting it away.
“Ow, kid, why did you do that?” the stallion snapped at him.
“You almost stepped on the snail!” Snails cried.
“It’s just a pest, you crazy kid,” the stallion muttered, already moving on. Snails couldn’t believe something so beautiful was just a garden pest. Putting the snail on his back so no pony would step on it, he walked all the way across town to the Golden Oaks library to prove that stallion wrong.
It was called a Cornu aspersum, in science talk. And the neat thing that dragged it from place to place was a ‘foot’, or so the library book said. Snails was tickled both figuratively and literally to see that the snail could climb down 90 degree angles. Snails stopped reading a few times to move the snail from dangerous angles back onto his back, and observe it. He was interested both those activities he didn’t notice when the sky began to darken outside. When his mom finally found him and dragged him home for dinner, he found he had gotten his Cutie Mark somehow earlier in the day.
Other ponies knew exactly what their Cutie Mark was for, so why was Snails so clueless? It made it really hard to think of a pony even remotely related to his Cutie Mark for his school report. Maybe he could interview a snail? Where did all the Snails go in the wintertime again?
“Snails! Don’t look, but I think we’re being followed.”
“Wha?” Snails wanted to look. Who was following them? Had some Timberwolves left the Everfree forest? Were Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon preparing to tease them? Was Pinkie Pie trying to throw them a ‘Puberty Party’ AGAIN? Snails just thought he could make out heavier footsteps crunching in the snow behind them. All the other ponies were inside, preparing for the storm. He tried not to let his mind terrify himself anymore, and decided to see what idea Snips had. Snips had always had great ideas!
“What should we do?” Snails whispered.
“On a count of three, let’s run to my place- its closer.”
“Okay!” We kept our normal walking pace to fool whatever was following us.
“One,” Snips whispered. “Two…”
“Excuse me-“ a familiar mare’s voice spoke from behind them. But she was too late.
“THREE!” They galloped straight forward, doing their best not to trip in the uneven drifts of snow beneath their hooves. They kept running until they were safely behind Snips’ front door. Snips’ mother greeted the panting colts with a warm smile.
“Welcome home, Snips! Glad to have you back, Snails. Would you boys like a snack?” Snips squirmed in his mother’s hug and then after she released him, slipped out of his winter clothes.
“Stop smothering me, Mom! Snails and I are going to my room.”
“I’ll bring you your snack there,” she replied, chuckling.
Snips’ room was always kept clean, so Snails didn’t get to enjoy watching any spider webs or ants crawling around. Snails was always pretty impressed by the ‘Trixie the Magnificent’ merchandise Snips had. Action figures on his shelves, posters on his walls- Snails hadn’t even seen bedspreads, pillow covers, and curtains in the magician unicorn’s trailer last time she came to town. Snails’ collection was small fries compared to it. If only his Dad would give him a bigger allowance…
Snips’ mom had left them some stalks of ‘ants on a log’ (celery, peanut butter, and raisins). Although the raisins didn’t actually look like ants, Snails enjoyed the snack anyway. Snails wondered if she could make a snail out of food. That could be related to his Cutie Mark somehow, maybe he could interview Snips’ mom.
“Hey, maybe we could interview each others’ Moms for the homework,” Snails suggested out loud.
“Naw, I have an even cooler plan,” Snips replied. Snails wondered briefly if his friend didn’t think his mom was cool, and it hurt his feelings a little. Still, he was curious what Snips had planned.
“What is it?” Snails asked. Snips’ eyes widened.
“Uhhh…” Snips stared off in the distance with a worried expression. Snails began to get apprehensive. Did Snips just say he had a plan because he didn’t want to interview Snails’ Mom? Snails’ mom wasn’t a professional, but it was her special talent to keep the garden and plants around their house looking nice. She was always a little stressed when she just had the houseplants to look after in the wintertime.
“My mom cuts things too! She calls it pruning. It’s totally cool!”
“I have another pony to interview- sorry,” Snips apologized.
“Who?” Snails wanted to know.
“I… I…can’t say.”
“You’re lying! You just don’t wanna interview my mom!”
“I’m not lying!”
“Well, I don’t wanna interview your mom, either!” Snails snapped, and stomped out of his room.
***
Even the following morning Snips didn’t know what to do about Snails. Snips had told Snails he had gotten his Cutie Mark because he thought cutting stuff was fun, but that wasn’t true at all.
A couple of summers ago, a Noble cousin of his was getting married, and his mom had been shocked to find the day before the wedding that Snips had outgrown his fancy summer blazer. In a frenzy she dragged Snips to the nearest seamstress she could find- the not yet famous Rarity of Carousel Boutique.
Snips at first baulked over all the dark pink curtains that were draped over dark pink fabric walls, but it had begun to feel warming and calming the more time he spent there. Rarity seated his mother with a cup of tea nearby, and had Snips stand on a platform in front of three gold-rimmed oval mirrors. A stallion’s russet pinstriped blazer came off a dress form and was tucked around Snips. A flurry of pins in light blue magic spun around him, pinning up the sleeves, tucking in the sides, rolling up the ends while never once pricking him.
Then the silver scissors came, glittering in Rarity’s magic. All the excess fabric went away; except for a little Rarity said she could bring down when he grew again. She told them to come back in an hour and it would be finished. The coat was the most awesome thing he had ever seen! After he got home with his new coat, he borrowed an extra of his Dad’s and promptly tried to duplicate what Rarity had done. The end result was nowhere near what she had accomplished, and he would’ve been punished if his Mom hadn’t been so excited over his new Cutie Mark.
He had draped Rarity’s scarf over one of his bedposts overnight so it could be near him yet not wrinkle much more than wearing it had. Like how it hadn’t lost the fragrance of Rarity’s orchid perfume, Snips’ dream to work with Rarity was still there. He (and Snails) had gone to an Ursa Minor’s cave alone, certainly he could face the Element of Generosity and her sister, too. It was only a few more hours away.