Part 7
“Lift your hoof, please.”
“And hold your head high.”
“Tail up higher too.”
“Why’s everyone looking at me?”
This One’s too Young Part II
“For helping defeat the spirit of King Sombra, for helping to save a foal from the corruptions of dark magic, and for risking her life in the name of love and friendship, we award Escargot our highest honor. A statue will be built in her likeness, to be placed beside Princess Amore’s.”
“But I didn’t do anything.” Escargot protested, “I don’t deserve-”
“You braved the mists and darkness! You came looking for us, even though you knew there might be danger. You could have fled, you could have hidden. Even if your intent was just to find me, to be safe, you still showed courage.” Twilight said.
“But I froze, that’s all.”
“I’ve frozen too, at times. Fluttershy’s frozen up more times than I can count. In the end though, she’s still shone through, and that’s just what you did- you shone through the darkness and lit the heart.”
Princess Cadence smiled down at the little filly, “Don’t worry, it won’t take too long. You just have to pose long enough for the artists to get the basic shape and pose.”
As he walked, Escargot shook his front leg a bit, “Twilight? How long does this crystal appearance last?”
“Oh don’t worry, it should wear off in a day or so. You were pretty close to the Crystal Heart when it went off.” Twilight paused, then added, “Besides, you look cute like that.”
Escargot shook out a hind leg anxiously. Being a filly was bad enough, (what with all the attention she got,) but this was downright humiliating. What kind of colt am I if I’m all glittery and sparkly like this.
“Here we are.” Cadence stopped outside a small craftspony shop. “This is one of our best sculptors.”
Opal Bloom squealed and hugged Escargot in excitement. “Oh my gosh, you were so brave! I told everyone what you did! Running into the mist like that- I’d never have been able to do that.”
“Oh, I see you’ve met Opal. Her mother is the mare who will be carving your sculpture.” Cadence smiled.
Opal blinked at Cadence, before quickly ducking her head in a bow. “Princesses, I’m sorry.” Then she turned back to Escargot “You’re so lucky Escargot, my mom only sculpts the most elite of mares. It’s a good thing you’re not a stallion, she doesn’t carve those.”
“Yeah- lucky...” Escargot mumbled and lowered his head.
“Come on, I’ll show you my room while the grownups talk!” Opal said, dragging Escargot through the front door and up a flight of stairs.
Opal’s room wasn’t big- it was actually slightly smaller than Snails’s room at home, but every inch of it was plastered with posters. She had pictures of Spitfire, Fleetfoot, and High Winds of the Wonderbolts. She had pictures of Fleur Dis Lee and Fluttershy, the fashion models of Equestria. She even had some pictures of Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“Only mares?”
“Of course! Colts are lame cowards, every mare knows that. Ever wonder why there are no stallion Alicorns? Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, Princess Amore, and such. It’s cuz only we mares have the magic to be leaders. Stallions that try to gain that kind of magic become corrupt- just look at Sombra.” She nodded as if to confirm it.
“I know some stallions that are great, like Big Mac. Sweet Apple Acres couldn’t survive without him.” Escargot said.
“Yeah, but I bet the farm is run by mares. I’d NEVER be friends with a stallion, let alone let a colt in my room.”
“We’re ready!” Twilight called out.
Escargot hurried downstairs, Opal was actually starting to scare him.
Opal’s mom looked at Escargot and just beamed with excitement. “Oh Celestia, it’s true, she is such a beautiful little princess. Come now, stand here.”
“Twilight? Why does everypony keep calling me a princess? I thought it was only for a day, and even then only for Ponyville.” Escargot looked to Twilight for answers.
“They think you’re a very special pony.” Twilight said warmly, “And I couldn’t agree more. There’s something magical about you.”
“But there isn’t- I’m just-”
“Lift your hoof, please.” The sculptor smiled. “And hold your head high- you shouldn’t slouch.”
Lifting her head and curling her foreleg a bit, Escargot posed, glancing towards Twilight. “I’m just a normal pony.”
“Tail up higher too. I want to capture all its length and beauty, so it’s best if it’s not on the ground.”
Sighing wistfully, Escargot struck the pose of regal elegance and royal beauty that the sculptor wanted. At least she wasn’t demanding that Escargot wear a-
“Shouldn’t she be in a gown?” Twilight asked
“Gee, thanks.”
“Oh no, dear, she looks much better in her crystal form alone! She will be the heartthrob of every young colt in the Empire!”
Can I have a do-over? Can I let Sombra win this time? 1000 years of slavery and torture must be better than this.
Tilting her head, Princess Cadence looked to Twilight. “Twilight? Does Escargot have a personal assistant yet?”
“An assistant?”
“A what?!?” Escargot jumped in alarm.
“Well, you have Spike helping you, and Celestia has Kibitz.” Cadance paused, “ I was just thinking- I know the perfect assistant for her!”
“But I have nowhere for an assistant to stay!” Escargot was starting to panic. This wasn’t good in the slightest.
“Oh, nonsense. There’s always room at the castle. ” Twilight smiled warmly. “And it might be good to have someone or somepony to help you with your studies.”
“But-”
“Oh nonsense, you haven’t even met her yet.”
Her? Well at least it’s not a him that somepony wants me to be engaged to. Looking up Escargot sighed. “Yes Ma’am. Why’s everyone looking at me?”
“Because you’ve earned respect, and with that, attention.”
“Ok, you’re free to go, I have all the sketches and pictures I need.” The artist said, retreating to her workshop to finish.
All across town the Crystal Ponies were excited. They watched Escargot and Princess Cadence, some beginning to follow. It was just so special. Shining Armor had gone off with Flash Sentry on a special mission, so this was a royal girl’s day.
The Crystal Hearts Orphanage was a beautiful structure: It was a spire with a large grass playground. Foals played outside, kicking a ball, under the watchful gaze of the orphanage staff. There were never many foals there, but sadly, the building was never empty either. Accidents did happen.
If my parents found out, I’d be lucky to live in a place like this. I’d probably end up living in a box on the street. Well, until the town guard locked me up in a cage then left me in the Everfree. He would be stranded and alone until they sent him to Tartar Sauce… Or was that Tartarus? That prison would be a holding cell until Celestia could get all the elements to banish me to the moon forever.
Sitting down, Escargot started whimpering, tears in his eyes. He was too young to be banished to the moon.
Looking at the foals, he shook her head and looked at Twilight mournfully. “Princess Twilight, is there something we can do for them? Maybe we could do a bake sale back home to raise money, then buy apples and goods from Sweet Apple Acres and send them here?”
Several of the ponies sighed and awed at the princess’s heartfelt suggestion. The orphans’ plight had moved her to tears. Murmurs and rumor spread at the speed of magic.
“Oh Escargot, that’s such a sweet thought. I think you should do it.” Princess Twilight commended her student proudly.
Leading the group inside, Cadence stopped at a small room. Inside, a small griffin cub leaned against the windowsill, looking up at the sky. She was tiny- just a cub (or kitten, or chick, or whatever a young griffin is called.)
“Her as a personal assistant?” Twilight said, surprised, “But, this one’s too young.”
“She’s smart, eagle eyed, and a quick learner. She came to our kingdom in a blizzard- the griffiness with her asked for us to keep her safe. Her name’s Giselle, or Gisa for short.” Princess Cadence smiled.
I know it's a made up word, but I feel like there shouldn't be an e at the end of griffoness (assuming we mean a female griffin). Extra e makes it look more like the name of their language . Other than that, nice chapter. Things are progressing along... well... predictably, as based on the story's premise. Still, I feel it might be moving along a tad quickly. Pretty soon we're going to run out of rungs to raise the bar to.
Wait... I get the series of unfortunate coincidences...
...but why the hell would they shoehorn in the griffon as an attendant?
There is literally a city of bootlickers to choose from at this point...
And since Snails is going back to Ponyville in short order, why would Twilight randomly ADOPT an orphan here?
Is Twilight projecting her own apprenticeship onto Snails?
Is it required that Royal students get Slave-Beasts?
And why would Cadance go along with this?
Is the Orphanage so overcrowded, that Cadance can just ship them off willy nilly.
Is there a crate of foals bound for Saddle Arabia next week?
Will Snails come to realize the Crystal Coat makes him waterproof?
Will Celestia ever stop the machinations of Lex Luthor?
Will Trixie become Escargot's personal court magician?
a griffin this is going to get good.
this chapter is just so sweet I love it.
good work KC.
Harts Fire
PS this story is right back on the front or top 10 list ware it belongs.
you need to write in someone who knows about snails/escargots secret, he needs someone to talk to about everything that's happening
Im just waiting for Escargot to get so frustrated and pent up that she blurts out that she's actually a dude that was cursed.
And everybodys jaws drop.
6415067 While I wont give away what I know out of respect for the author, I will say, your idea just may show up eventually
Loved the update and I look forward to the next!
Hay cool a Griffon hmmmmmm * sniff sniff* I smell a ship in the air
There she is, I was waiting to see when she would show up.
Thanks for the chapter.
6415067 Well technically Celestia knows, but she won't help.
6415024 Having a personal attendant is an unfortunate coincidence. And trust me, it makes for plenty of shenanigans later :)
6415207 A ship? Most of the mares in the Crystal empire want to ship their sons with Escargot. There are so many hopeful Shippings going on that the harbor's full.
Opal Bloom is most definitely Akane's counterpart.
And Giselle will likely be the first to actually SEE Escargot change to Snails. And then she'll try and get Snails to turn back to Escargot right away and stay that way. Especially if she sees how bad Snails has it.
A line I forsee either Giselle or Twilight saying in a future chapter: Your father forbids you from learning and using your magic? Why is he not letting you live up to your potential? Is he an idiot?
6416063
I get it's a comedy... and shenanigans will follow...
... but it's an orphan gryphon cub....
If she had exceptional references she wouldn't be IN the orphanage...
And if she has no exceptional references, why would Cadance be handing out random Gryphons?
If the Gryphon had a parent there, foisting her off to Twilight would make sense, get the cub out from underfoot or something...
But it's an orphan... the only way she's going with Twilight is if Twilight is ADOPTING her...
6416166 The idea is that Cadance thinks Gisa will be a good match for Escargot. Cadance probably knows all the foals at the orphanage, since it's the only one in the whole empire (and not very full), so Gisa doesn't really have a special connection in that sense.
And Gisa is being assigned to Escargot because Twilight and Cadance think she should have an assistant of her own, so technically Gisa is Escargot's responsibility/assistant, not Twilight's adoption.
Basically, Cadance is giving Gisa to Escargot because she thinks they'd work well together.
Brain hurting...
If this was a temporary thing, then why would Snails get an Orphan Gryphon child as an attendant...
There HAVE to be better qualified temps on hand...
But if it's permanent, then Cadance just unilaterally decided Snails has adopted a gryphon cub to raise as a servant...
She handed a child to the custody of a child.
Cadance doesn't even know WHO Escargot's family is... just that Twilight is currently teaching her...
The amount of idiot ball required to do this is beyond the pale...
Author better have a good explanation for how this is even remotely legal outside of royal fiat...
6416303 Twilight hatched spike... and was essentially given custody of a baby... Even in season 1 she talks about him still being a baby dragon. She treats spike like a slave most times. Honestly spike gets more abuse from twilight then he does from villians.
Strangely Gisa or Giselle is a "pet name" in old germanic for whats referred to as a Pledge Child. A child awarded to a court or crown, to be raised by said court from a rival kingdom. For example the French might hand England a child of noble blood to raise in the English courts as a diplomatic gift.
Don't worry, as the story continues to unfold the insanity of why Cadence wants the child out of her kingdom and far from Griffonstone will become apparent. :)
6416303 That's absolute monarchy for you, everything the ruler say is legal, is legal.
6416481
That's because you forget how monarchy works (the one where the monarch is the ruler).
If a ruler wants to give an orphan in her care to someone, that's her right to do so. If she thinks that being in a care of yet another ruler (since Escargot is clearly Twilight responsibility) will do that orphan good, that's a law. If she thinks someone needs a personal slave - well, that one is out of luck slave owner from then on.
There's simply no problem with the paperwork when your word is an absolute law.
Awesome story but feel sorry for sails can't wait to see wait happens next
6474808 You'll feel sorry for Snails even more. It'll be glorious.
hum all most one month and no up date hum???
twilight is suffiering from a ehad injury. either that or, like some say, she is riding on nostalgia about ehr own experinces and trying to relive her 'youth' via snails/escargot (and why no-one has yet commented on that name, or even how SNAILS of all poines knows what it is, is a mystery for the ages). sadly, the laytter option does make twilight seem to have taken a level in jerkass.
... I understand that this story - like Ranma - is intended to explore and illustrate the differing gender roles and how heavily bias effects perception but that said-- Damn but you'd need a hatchet to cut sexism this heavy.
“Oh, I see you’ve met Opal. Her mother is the mare who will be carving your sculpture.” Cadence smiled.
Oh so she's not an orphan in this universe
It’s a good thing you’re not a stallion, she doesn’t carve those.
“Yeah, but I bet the farm is run by mares. I’d NEVER be friends with a stallion, let alone let a colt in my room.”
wow that really hurt
I think I would introduce her to the doctor and sec.
Almost in tears thanks a lot!
Okay if Opal's mom hates stallions then explain her daughter.
oh was reading comments.
sounded fun
6416422 still it's one of the few things that i think is just wrong.
you know this story could also be consider a good comparison to the issue that is transgenders.
I almost called her a bigot. I say almost because, in spite her being quite obviously sexist, she's a filly. She is not fully grown. It is my firm belief that to truly a bigot one must either be fully grown or has been twisted past the point of redemption when they were young. Young minds are far more flexible, and growing up may allow her to realize that she's being a cunt.
Did Snails forget that he met Celestia and that Celestia knows about his curse, and since she didn't banish him before she won't banish him because of it?
Wait, she was brought there in a blizzard by a griffon who wanted them to keep her safe. What if she was to come back for her?
Yeah, I think I now understand why I find this so much less satisfying than Ranma ½:
Ranma Saotome is a confident, macho jock whose, for all the hassle his life becomes, still thrives in the challenge and gets enough of an ego boost from being pursued that events like the Reversal Jewel arc can happen. It feels like he deserves the curse to some extent. (In fact, one popular fanon interpretation is that Jusenkyo manipulates probability such that each person gets a curse which is intended to teach them some kind of lesson.)
Snails, by contrast... while I'm still interested enough to keep reading, it feels like the story just keeps kicking him while he's down and I can't help but feel sorry for him.
(Plus, the rate at which reasons to remain Escargo keep piling on verges on contrived.)
8859420
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but this spells it out perfectly. I might feel a little bit better if a couple of the adults knew, like Flutters and maybe rarity.
8859420
Overall, I agree with you.
I just happen to enjoy this for entirely different reasons that I liked Ranma 1/2.
I just thought of this when reading that again.
Maybe they will give you some fish to go with that tartar sauce.
The sculpture made me think of this.