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// Where do I Start with this Thing? 
// Story: Snow Feather, the lesser known Art Restorer of Canterlot 
// by dracone 
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My name is Snow Feather, and I'm not what you would call an average Equestrian citizen. Let me explain, my mom is a pegasus pony and my father is a griffin. I'm what's called a hippogriff; I don't know if my kind are uncommon or rare in Equestria, mostly because of the fact I haven't done much looking into it. It's not that I don't want to find out if there are others like me, it's more of a case of me being mildly agoraphobic, which makes it a bit ironic that I live in close proximity to Canterlot.
What do I look like...I'm a white hippogriff with dark blue eyes, the griffin variant I inherited from my father is an owl/panther type. Some would say I have a graceful and elegant form, I wouldn't know since I don't really pay attention to appearance beyond my weekly preening sessions. My front half looks more like that of an owl variant griffin, with my forelegs ending in owl-like griffin talons, and my hind half is more in line with that of a pony, I even have a cutie mark.

Why am I writing all this down, mostly because I need to vent to someone, and I don't really have any friends. As for my talent, that would be art restoration, which would explain why my shop/home is around a half hour's trot from Canterlot proper. I don't really do the same kind of advertising as other businesses, I mostly post fliers up in the city after dark and have the rest just be news spread by word of mouth, I know it's not typical for businesses in the modern age, but given my quirks, it's the best I can do. Dad's a really old-fashioned type of griffin warrior; there's a lot of long-standing traditions in his family. One such tradition is retiring from the military once the oldest child has reached their twelfth year and presenting them with your armor. Dad's is solid white, which factors into him earning the nickname “White Maelstrom,” dad really doesn't use his given name, when he came to settle down with mom he took the name Razor Wind. I'm sure he's quite the asset to Equestria, last I checked he was a private combat instructor for Equestrian griffins. I have no doubt that if a military exercise that requires the cooperation of griffins comes up he'll be involved.

Mom's a professional maid, but during the time she had me, she made it a point to not take up residence in the facility or on the grounds of her employers, the first time she did something like that I was crowed almost constantly by the children of the staff and employers, probably why I'm so conscious of others looking at me and why I have my particular phobia. Mom's name is Gentle Wind and she's a very kind soul. I don't really know who has her employed currently, she never really shares that sort of thing with me if she thinks it might cause me trouble, which is almost always.   I keep mementos of both my parents in my studio. Dad's armor is propped in a place that could be a display if I let anyone into my workspace, and I have some photos of mom adorning my private sleeping space, mom's face always has a way of relaxing me.

I might move, if circumstances force me to do so. I've got a good system to avoid interacting with clients directly, plus it helps them think I'm an all-business type of mare, which suits me just fine. Art is my passion, I take neglected pieces and restore them to their former glory. A side effect of my talent is the ability to tell a genuine piece from a false one. I see more than I would like to admit, Canterlot elites that have been duped into purchasing a forgery of a supposedly great piece who then want to have it touched up to pristine status. How does it happen, the art consultants they hired on were the sort that had glowing reviews from other Canterlot elite. I'm not that kind of mare; if it's fake I'll be bluntly honest about it no matter how much I'm offered as a bribe to say otherwise or threatened that I should agree with the elite pony on grounds they will ensure my business will not go under. The truth always comes out, whether we want it to or not. I'm just waiting for it to fall onto me.

Winter is my favorite time of year, mostly because I can move around the open with almost nopony noticing me, it's the one time of year I feel less afraid of being in or near a crowd. My little out of the way shop only gets ponies that are lost or looking for it specifically, in a way it's my way of separating the chaff from the wheat. Most of the ponies I get in my shop are of the more agreeable among Canterlot. I'm proud to say Fancy Pants is a regular who drops by to make sure his newest acquisitions are in the proper condition, not to mention he's very polite when I inform him he just wasted his bits on a fake, replica or reproduction. I had a few representatives of Princess Luna come to visit and test my abilities shortly after her return to Equestria.     

Princess Luna is a patron of the arts, in every form, or rather she was before the Nightmare Moon fiasco around a thousand years ago, according to many of the older texts I've restored over the years. The first book I ever restored was an account of the early days of the reign of Celestia and Luna, which predated the initial Nightmare Moon incident by several centuries. Thus far no one has requested those sort of restored books; I keep them stored away from the customer section to cut down the possibility of them being stolen, I don't worry about the restored paintings because a charm on the wall keeps them from being removed by anyone other than the buyer before they're purchased. The enchantments to my storefront aren't cheap, or something that can be done shoddy, and had to be woven into the building itself to prevent the spells from fading. One of the few ponies I trust, a former student from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, helped to set it all up. I won't reveal who she is, on the grounds of a mutual agreement, and the fact we've only known each via an alias, we know what each other looks like and what sort of craft each other practices, but we don't really know the name of each other.                

— Well, I guess that covers the preface.