The Sour Grapes Chronicle Side Story: The Avalanche

by The Incredible Werekitty

Avalanche Valley

In the magical land of Equestria, bordering on what was once the Crystal Empire, there lies a relatively small dutchy. Its original settlers were hearty pegasi who rather liked snow and ice, and escaped slaves from the Sombra-ruled Crystal Empire. As time passed, there arose two cold-hardy subspecies of pony. The Snow Ponies, and Ice Pegasi, both known for glittering coats, and ability to survive in ice and snow. The glittering coats came from the Crystal Pony ancestry that was shared among the ponies of Avalanche Valley, and the hardiness to cold came from the cold-loving pegasi who chose to live there. The little village came to the aid of new country of Equestria during times of strife, and one of the pegasi families under the leadership of the Pegasus Icebreaker, was named noble over the lands of Avalanche Valley given the title of Duke. Thus the Ice legacy was formed, and the village became the Duchy of Avalanche Valley.

Things went well for the Dutchy. Gems were discovered in the mountains, and were mined. They brought prosperity to the town, and its inhabitants, and the village’s scenery brought the occasional influx tourists. All in all it was a wonderful time for the Valley. Then the reign of Dutchess Thin Ice started. She wanted to make the Valley even more scenic, and tourist-friendly. In her mind her domain should reflect her personal beauty and elegance and so started a massive project to change the look of the town. Streets were paved with cobblestones, the cottages were made quaint, and homey, even the manse was made into a wonderful showplace of Alpine architecture. Then the gems in the mountains were gone. They were mined so ruthlessly, that they didn’t have time to grow back, naturally. So the mines were played out, and once the craftsponies were paid, they left the Valley. The ponies of the valley rebelled, and deposed Thin Ice, putting her nephew on the throne. The nephew, Thick Ice, came up with the plan to turn Avalanche Valley into a resort to try and gain bits for the country’s coffers. Although probably not considered “overly” bright, he did have the genius of surrounding himself with ponies smarter than him, to help take his basic ideas and either make them viable or simply discard them. To this day he's considered the father of tourism in the Valley and his portrait is painted not in the classic royal finery but the simple garb of a prosperous merchant, with the crown in the crook of his foreleg. Symbolising his classic speech "I'm pullin' for ya. We're all in this together."

The resort town of Avalanche Valley has all the features of any popular alpine resort. Quaint shops with Valley-made goods, ski runs with competent instructors, and a full-service inn that was once the ducal manse. The ponies of Avalanche Valley have always been hardy bunch, but even dealing with snot-nosed tourists can wear down the most sturdy soul. They’ve come to have a deep dislike for sports-ponies who use their pristine mountain slopes for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. The Avalanchers tend to call them “Powder Trash”, for the trashy way they dress, act and for their tendency to leave trash all over their beautiful mountains. Every year, they do a little better, but every year, something happens, that the duchy ends up in the red, still. There is always some emergency, or some repair, or an extra-large clean-up effort after an especially trying tourist season. Financially, they always take two steps forward and one step back. It is trying, but the shared hardship has brought the ponies of Avalanche Valley closer than ever. They are especially close with their Duke and Duchess, who run the manse, and eagerly do as much work for the Valley as the rest of the citizenry. Most outsiders would not be able to even tell that the Innkeepers were nobility, and even a lot of the Canterlot elite were fooled into thinking that Avalanche Valley was a Crown Protectorate under the guiding hoof of Princess Celestia, after the “rabble” had deposed their “rightful” ruler.

The Duke and Duchess didn’t disabuse the Canterlot Nobles of their assumption. For one, it allowed them to see the Canterlot Nobles on a slightly unequal basis, and gave them the idea which ones were worth cultivating as allies. For another, it prevented the aforementioned less-than-noble nobles from looking down their muzzles at the Duke and Duchess. Even so, there were a few nobles that knew about the Ices. Those of the Pants family, known for being fantastic folks, and excellent stewards, never looked down upon the Ice family for doing honest work. Many nobles of Canterlot, being unicorns, would have looked down on the Ices simply for being pegasi.

So that has been the lot of Avalanche Valley to its present day. It is still a popular resort town, visited during all seasons. Hiking during the summers, in its beautiful countryside, and skiing and other winter sports during its snow-covered winters. One daughter of the Ice line decided to follow her heart, and Glacier Ice left Avalanche Valley to become an actress. The youngest, Ice Storm, seemed to take on the whole responsibility of being the heir, working in the manse as a chambermaid during the winter season, and taking a well-paying job with the Royal Equestrian Rogue Storm Emergency Response Team, sending back most of her salary to her homeland. She even formulated a plan B, that she told nopony about, but it lead to her closing off her heart to the possibility of finding love, “out there”. Because her plan B did not include anything as “unprofitable” as love. Every year Ice Storm attended the Grand Galloping Gala, searching for a stallion with money who would be interested in marrying her for her title. The Ice line was centuries old, and anypony who married into it would be a titular peer, even if the Ices were mere pegasi. “Plan B” was actually known by her parents, even though she never told them directly.

It's a mother's prerogative to read a diary so carelessly left locked in the bottom drawer under a pile of socks where anyone with a passing knowledge of picking locks with a hairpin can happen across it. It was not often that the actions of an offspring could bring a set of parents such pride as well as sorrow. They knew whatever the future came, their daughter had the best interests of her subjects in mind. They knew she would do everything in her power to keep whatever Canterlot Noble she chose from abusing the Valley, however… Honestly, they dearly wished she would follow her heart, when it came to choosing a mate. She deserved happiness, and taking a mate for money, to save her homeland would not make her truly happy. She would be happy for her subjects, of course, being able to turn away the worst of the tourists, but she would also be locked in a loveless marriage, with somepony who would only care about the advantages that being married to a noble of the Ice Line would gain them.

So that is how things stand. Ice Storm, nicknamed “Queenie” by her coworkers, worked for the Storm Riders in the off season, worked at her family’s resort in the on season. Then gained a job with her fellow Storm Riders with a humble vineyard in Ponyville one year, which garnered her more money to send back to her family. Little did she know she had met somepony who could help her. But then… Sour Grapes didn't talk about the Diamond side of her family very much.

Author's Note:

Important background information.