//------------------------------// // Part 17: We're Mistaken // Story: Snails 1/2: Vol 2 The Perfect Stallion // by kitsy-chan //------------------------------// Part 17 "DOOOOMED!” “The horror… the horror!” We're Mistaken It wasn’t Escargot’s alarm clock that woke him up. It was the crying. It was so soft and meek. Escargot sat up, looking around to see where the sound was coming from. Something inside of him knew he had to respond. Curled in a little ball on the end of his bed, Gisa was crying. Looking around, he saw the window open. The little griffin had likely come in sometimes last night, not wanting to be away from Escargot. She had curled up on the end of the bed like a dog, just to be close to her. Moving around on the bed, he lay down beside her, putting his neck and muzzle over her protectively. She was still very small, so he was able to curl around her a bit. Nuzzling her back between her wings, Escargot looked down at the little ball of fluff and feathers. “Don’t leave me, mama.” Gisa said softly in her sleep. Putting her head over Gisa, he hugged her gently. “It’s ok Gisa, you’re safe.” Gisa opened her eyes, looking up at Escargot. Blinking a few times, she hugged Escargot’s neck tightly. “Don’t abandon me… Everyone abandons me.” He didn’t know what to say. Sighing softly, he looked down, hugging Gisa back. “I won’t abandon you. I can’t be with you all the time, but I won’t give you up.” “Thank you, momma,” Gisa said, snuggling close to Escargot. Escargot shook his head and just hugged the grifflet, not wanting to let go. Snails wasn’t the maternal type; he hadn’t even foalsat before. Of course, no one would ever trust him to foalsit, which was a good thing. Snails was still unsure of what sitting on foals had to do with keeping them safe or watching them. Tapping on the door, Snails’ mother opened it, peeking in. “Escargot, have you seen Snails? There are… princesses here to see him. They say it’s important.” Snails moaned internally. “Princesses”, plural? The doom factor had reached epic levels. Wait, they were looking for Snails. What had Snails done? With a sigh, he looked down at Gisa, “Could you check the castle to see if Snails is there? I’ll check Rarity’s, ok?” Gisa nodded and jumped through the window. She couldn’t fly, but jumping and running were well within her abilities, and for such a little thing, she still had the speed of a cat on the ground. Giggling, Escargot stood up, “Mind if I use the front door? I’ve been trying to avoid jumping through windows.” As he walked down the hallway, he felt the temperature drop a good 10 degrees. There were a pair of thestrals at the living room door, and Princess Luna and Long Haul were having a battle of wills. Twilight Sparkle was hiding on the far side of Princess Luna, trying to stay out of it. Shivering, Escargot opened the front door to see a pair of unicorn royal guards there too. They stood proud and true, on either side of the front door guarding it. Snails didn’t know why, or how, but he knew he was in such trouble. He was probably going straight to Tartar-sauce. Running for Rarity’s boutique, Escargot knocked on the door in a total panic. “Rarity, Mrs. Rarity! Help! Please help me!” Rarity opened the door mumbling, wearing her pink bed robe and night mask. Looking down, she blinked a few times, “Morning Escargot? What’s wrong?” “Princess Luna, Princess Twilight… at my house… They want Snails. I’m doomed! DOOOOMED!” Rarity had to fight hard not to laugh or even smile at the little filly running in circles in front of her. Little Escargot was obviously in a total panic, “Calm down, it can’t be that bad.” Escargot kept running in circles, “But they don’t want me, they want Snails! Nopony wants Snails, unless it’s for punishment, and I don’t want to go to Tartar-sauce!” Unable to help smiling just a little bit, Rarity sighed, “Now, now, this kind of behavior is un-ladylike.” Rose ran by, yelling, “The horror… the horror!” Close behind were Daisy and Lilly, screaming, being chased by a group of hungry rabbits. Rarity covered her face with a foreleg, “Well, maybe not that un-ladylike for Ponyville but still. Best head inside and get changed. Then, we will both go back, to see what’s going on.” Running inside, Escargot quickly hit herself with hot water and looked to make sure his normal green and orange colors had come back. Once satisfied, he trotted back to the door looking at Rarity. “I’m sorry... it’s just." Snails let out a sigh before looking up at Rarity." No one ever wants me as just Snails, let alone royalty.” “Snails, stop right there.” Rarity said firmly. Shaking her head she walked around in front of him before looking at him sternly. “Do not belittle yourself. You are special as you are, never forget that.” Blinking Snails nodded once. “Yes ma’am, sorry.” “Now, chin up, head high. This is no different than meeting Princess Twilight normally.” Turning, Rarity started walking towards Snails’ house. Shaking his head, the colt followed, head high and walking proudly beside Rarity. Well, up until he saw the two big stallion guards at the door. Gulping, he fell behind Rarity a bit, hiding in her shadow. Trotting over, Raven smiled brightly, “Hello Snails, I’m Raven! Princess Twilight has brought some concern about your skills and training to the royal court.” The white unicorn mare smiled softly at Snails. Looking between his father and the princesses, Snails bowed his head. “Sorry ma’am, my father does not like me using magic in the house. I’m not very good or strong with it.” “That’s why we are here. Princess Twilight has suggested you be tested for the school. Normally, we won’t push an issue, but due to your… ancestry… and her importance, Princess Luna has decided to show up to administer the test.” Raven said, lifting a clipboard and laying it in front of Snails. “Oh, Twilight dear, I know how eager you are about being a mentor. But couldn’t you have let this rest for a while till the family was ready?” Rarity said with a sigh. Twilight shook her head, “You don’t understand how important pendants like that are. How special they are to unic-” Twilight blinked as Rarity scowled at her, her horn glowing as if to prove her point. While Rarity may not have been Canterlot elite, she knew more about them then almost anypony. Lowering her head, Twilight sighed, “Sorry, Rarity.” Snails blinked, looking between the two, then at his father. Long Haul scowled sternly at the little foal. The look in his eyes said it all. He would have to honor his family. Luna walked over and unrolled an ancient scroll out on the table in front of Snails. It was one of Starswirl’s tests. Starswirl had several of these ‘games’ to judge a unicorn’s power. He had often used them to tease Luna. The scroll had several circles and lines on it, patterns and mystic formula Starswirl had worked out. “All you need to do is place the crystals where you think they belong on the scroll.” Luna said softly, offering Snails a gentle smile. “Take your time. Don’t rush, just look at it and see where they need to go.” Snails looked down at the words on the paper. His mind sorted through patterns and spells. He had seen this before in books with Twilight. Some of it was fundamental training, some of it was about cutie marks, and some of it was about first spells. A lot of it Snails didn’t understand but he knew he could make sense of it if he tried. His father cleared his throat sternly. Twilight sighed, “I’m sorry Long Haul, but this needs to be done for his health. If he is strong then going untrained could hurt him or others.” Lighting his horn as dimly as he could, he picked up the first crystal. It was a multi-faceted clear gem that glowed bright pink and when he picked it up. Jumping back Snails dropped the crystal and squeaked. Looking at his father timidly he reached out with his hoof and touched the gem with the tip of the hoof. Closing his eyes he knew he couldn’t do this- if he passed his father would kill him, if he failed he’d let down Twilight. If he passed, he might be taken away from his family, friends, from the girls. Shaking his head vigorously he used his forehoof to move each stone to a random place on the map. Each stone glowed a different color as it responded to the touch of his hoof. Pink, yellow, blue, purple, green, red, and finally a soft gold color each held the color until it was let go or broke contact with his hoof. He knew he had placed them in the wrong places. But it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t be responsible for hurting the girls or his family. Looking up he signed, “I don’t know, I don’t understand but I guess that’s right.” Twilight looked over at the paper and blinked, “Shouldn’t they be-” She started, before Luna picked up the gems with a bag, not touching them herself or with her magic. She sighed. Curiously, Twilight looked at Luna, confused. “Princess, is that all?” “Yes Twilight,” Luna said shaking her head slowly. “I guess we’re mistaken. He is not ready for the school.” Blinking, Twilight sighed, “I guess he didn’t inherit as much of her magic as I thought.” Long Haul looked down and nodded once to Snails. “I told you, now go to your room. I will talk to you later.” Nodding Snails stood up and walked out of the room head low. He didn’t feel right not trying his hardest to do the test or doing it right. It felt like he lied, but that was his life now. It was a lie to everypony. Plopping down on his bed, he hugged the pillow, burying his face in them. Hearing his door open and close, he twitched an ear, but fought back the tears. He would not cry in front of his father. His father would never accept that. Taking a deep breath he sat up and turned to face Princess Luna. “Princess? I… I…” Snails wasn’t sure to what to say. Looking down, he whimpered softly, “I’m sorry.” “It is all right Snails, may I ask you one question though?” Luna spoke gently, almost mothering. Snails rubbed his cheek and eye with the back of his foreleg, “Anything, Princess.” “Why did you try to fail the test?” Luna asked softly. “Try to?” Snails blinked, looking up. “Yes, you passed by a wide margin.” Luna said softly. “But I put the crystals in all the wrong places.” Snails said. “I know. It was easy to see you did that on purpose. The placement, however, was only part of the test. That was merely to demonstrate practical knowledge,” Luna said as she climbed up and lay on the bed, looking at him. “So you lied? You said I failed.” Snails blinked. “I did no such thing, I simply said you were not ready for the school.” Luna said with an innocent smile. “If dad knew, he would disown me or worse. He tells me all the time I have to be his perfect stallion. It’s my duty to the family, and magic is not part of that.” Snails said, looking down at his hooves. “I see, but you cannot always stay in his shadow. Someday, you will be ready to step into the light and shine as bright as your heart.” Luna stood up smiling. Snails let out a soft sigh, then looked back up at the princess. “I will let my sister know. When you are ready, the school will be there for you.” Luna said and stood up, heading out.