Silver Glow's Journal

by Admiral Biscuit

March 6 [snow machine]

March 6

I woke up with a pounding head from too much spiked hot chocolate last night, my coat matted down, and my mane and tail nothing but tangles.

I was willing to bet that Peggy felt the same way—she'd had more to drink than I had—so I used the room telephone to order a breakfast delivered to us. It was more expensive than going down and getting it ourselves, but I hoped Peggy would be happy to not have to get up and go down to the restaurant and get it.

The only way I was going to get untangled was a shower and lots of conditioner. Luckily I'd brought my own, since their little bottles weren't going to go far enough.

Of course the food arrived while I was still in the shower. The waiter's eyes got real wide when I opened the door, looking like some weird soap-monster, but to his credit he didn't drop our breakfast. As soon as he was gone, I ducked back into the shower to finish up.

I was done and brushing out my tail when Peggy's telephone started singing. When she'd shut it off—not knocking it off the bedstand this time—she noticed the breakfast, and right after that she realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes and pulled up her blanket to cover herself.

I thought that was really funny, and kind of cute. She got out of bed wrapped up in her comforter, got her plate of food and set it on the bedstand, and worked one of her arms out of her blanket-robe in order to eat.

She thanked me for ordering the food, and then tossed the blanket over my head and went into the bathroom before I could get it off.

While she was taking her morning shower, I made a pot of coffee. I knew how those worked, because Aric has one at home and I saw him using it before. This one was easier than his, because the coffee was already measured out in a little bag, and all I had to do was put it in the top chamber, fill the tank with water, and then turn it on.

Peggy was a lot more chipper when she came out of the bathroom. She had one towel wrapped around her head, and another knotted around her body. She poured herself a cup of coffee, added a little bit of the Kahlua to it, and then sat on her bed and sipped at it.

We didn't actually get off to much of a later start than before. Peggy changed the batteries and memory card in the GoPro, and we both got dressed. We had to check out of our room, too, which meant that we had to pack everything up and take it back to Cobalt.

She wanted to start off with a few runs on an easy course to warm up, and then said if I felt like it, we could try a black diamond course (which is the hardest rating).

So we took a few runs down Mister Moll, and then went over to Idiot's Delight.

We'd run down it a couple of times, when I noticed a man working on a strange round tube mounted on a pedestal which looked somewhat like the theater spotlight. I asked Peggy what it was, and she said that it was a snow machine. They were all over the place, but I hadn't paid them any attention before.

That sounded interesting to me, so I snowboarded down next to him and then got off my board (which isn't easy) and flew over and asked him how it worked.

At first he was surprised to see me and I don't think he was used to people talking to him when he worked. He probably wasn't expecting me to have flown up next to him.

He started to explain how the snow machine worked. He said that there were rings on the front that let a mist of water through, and the machine blew it out into cold air, and then it turned into snow.

Of course I wanted to see it work, but he said that he wasn't allowed to turn it on when people were skiing, which was a huge disappointment. He told me that down at the lodge, they had one that they used for demonstrations, and if I went there at noon, there would be a lecture about it, which would include having the snow machine make snow. So I flew back to Peggy and told her about it, and she said that we could go watch that.

Idiot's Delight wasn't that much harder for me, but my wings gave me an unfair advantage. I could soar over the difficult patches. I tried not to, because it felt like I was cheating, but I couldn't help my instincts.

Peggy thought it was funny, and she said that after watching the snowmaking demonstration and lunch, we were going to try out a terrain park and get some good footage for Gates. As if what I'd gotten yesterday wasn't good enough for him.

I lost count of how many runs we made down the hill before Peggy said that it was almost noon, and we went over to the demonstration area.

It was mostly small children and their parents, which was nice—small children are easy for me to see over.

The machine was pretty easy to understand. There were two kinds of snow machines, the ones that ran on compressed air and the ones that just ran on fans. The fan ones were more efficient, we were told, and the resort was changing to using all the fan types. They had big reservoirs to keep the water in, and a pumphouse to get it through pipes and hoses to the snow machines.

In principle, it wasn't significantly different than how we made snow. Rather than blast it out on the ground like they did, we had it fall from clouds and form normally, but the essence of the process was the same: humidity and air temperature were the big factors.

Also, their machines made little round snowballs instead of flakes. They said that was better, because it sat on the slopes and didn't wear out or melt as quickly as flakes did, and I guess I could understand how that would be better for them, but little round snowballs would not be as satisfactory to me as proper snowflakes.

Just the same, I paid close attention. There might be somepony interested in this kind of machine, especially since it was nice and simple. It was really clever how there were multiple concentric rings which could be controlled independently, depending on what the conditions for making snow were.

Then they got to the part I'd been waiting for, which was turning it on. The presentor asked if there were any volunteers to start it, and of course I raised my hoof, and I got chosen! Although it wasn't actually all that exciting. I got to turn a water valve, and the child who had also been chosen got to turn an air valve, and then it came to life and started spraying snow up into the air.

I flew around front to get a feel for what it was doing—I'd already had the technical explanation, of course, but I also wanted to feel it for myself.

I guess I wasn't supposed to have done that, because the presenter yelled at me and turned off the snow until I flew out of the snow area and promised not to fly back in. Just the same, I'd managed to get a decent sense of it.

When we went to lunch, Peggy said that Gates probably wouldn't be expecting to have video footage shot down the barrel of a snowgun.

We ate a light lunch, and then headed to the terrain park. That was only supposed to be for experienced snowboarders. She said I was probably experienced enough, and if I got in trouble to just fly out of it.

I could do that.

I started off just watching what other people did. There were ramps made out of snow, and the idea was to jump off of them and maybe make a loop in the air—it was obvious some people were trying for distance, and others were doing tricks.

When I had a good idea of what to do, I made my attempt. The first time down, I didn't have the right angle on the bow of the board, and it dug in and got yanked off my hooves. I wasn't quick enough getting my wings out: it took me totally by surprise. So I wound up crashing headfirst into the ramp.

I shook my head and got my board back and tried again. This time I got the bow of the snowboard up and launched off the ramp, managing about half a loop. It was obvious I wasn't going to be able to finish it, so I flew out of it and landed.

It took a few tries before I could go all the way over, but once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy and I didn't have to flap at all.

I still felt like I was cheating. Peggy didn't have any wings to help her, and she was getting a pretty good height on her snowboard.

She said that she wanted to film me one time trying for distance. She said that what I ought to do was come right at her with my wings tucked in, and once I was above her head, let them out and glide into a landing. So she got in position with her telephone and then told me to go.

I had to pull up on the board a little bit right before I went over her head—she hadn't judged her standing position all that well. And then I glided down faster than I could have, because if I kept my original course, I was going to run into the second floor of the lodge, and I didn't think that would look too good on the camera, so I glided down into the base area.

We played around for most of the afternoon, until it was starting to get dark, and then it was time to go back home.

Both of us were really tired when we got back to campus—it was nearly midnight when she parked Cobalt.

Sitting in the seat for hours hadn't done me any favors. I probably should have done some cool-down stretches afterward. I could tell that Peggy was sore, as well, and we didn't have a hot tub back in the dorm to relax in, although a hot shower would do the job almost as well.

I told her that she could take the first shower, since she'd done all the hard work driving us back, and then I thought about turning on my computer and seeing if I'd gotten any new mail, and I thought about reading Aquamarine's letter, but I wound up doing neither and falling asleep on top of my bed instead, and not waking up until Monday morning.

Comments

[Admiral Biscuit]

Sundays are for getting potato chip trucks towed home.
pre02.deviantart.net/b78b/th/pre/f/2016/122/5/1/potato_chip_truck_is_finally_home_by_admiral_biscuit-da13cri.jpg

[Conflicting views]

Gates will be happy with all these fantastic footages.

Don't worry about cheating Silver, you are just creating your own brand new awesome sport.

[KMCA]

She wanted to start off with a few runs on an easy course to warm up, and then said if I felt like it, we could try a black diamond course (which is the hardest rating).

Except for Double Black Diamonds... But I've only ever seen 2 of them.

[Alaborn]

Hope you didn't have any homework this weekend, Silver Glow. You wouldn't want to be a bad pony!

[Caliaponia]

Another fun chapter. Did she ever try out the other binding, though? I recall her using the magnetic binding the first day, and I half expected her to try the other kind on the second, but I don't recall any other references.

[Caliaponia]

Oh, and congrats on breaking the 100k mark on this story!

[CatCube]

I don't know about her still referring to cars by model as if she thinks that's their name. Has she not seen two Camrys in a parking lot yet? It's not like branding would be a stretch for ponies to understand, given Rarity in canon.

Edit to add: Rarity actually names her clothing lines, now that I think about it. There's not really any daylight between that and car models.

[Kusac]

7178153 Mount Rose next to Reno has a ton of double blacks.

[CinnamonSwirltheBreaded]

It was mostly small children and their parents, which was nice—small children are easy for me to see over.

I have this sudden vision of a pony turning to her girl friend and exclaiming they 'love children' and then explaining it's 'cause they don't block the view.

[TheTownCrier]

We had the that funny snowball thingy happen here in San Antonio Tx. Of course this is Texas, it just didn't snow. It rained first, then black ice formed then it snowed. My dumb self was out in it on a golf cart. The property I was at had a bit of hill. I barely touched the brakes and did a little drift. Kind of fun albeit terrifying.

[shynight]

7178603
And the next day, it was probably 85 degrees outside, because that's how the weather works here in Texas.
I've had a similar thing happen. Slowed down to take a u-turn under the overpass and ended up skidding. The car stopped about 3 feet from one of the support columns, scared the ever-living shit out of me.

[shynight]

7178487
Am I a bad person for wanting to see how Silver would react to meeting a midget now?

[TheTownCrier]

7178642 It was mostly gone by noon. That was harsh since I worked the night shift. The only people to make mad money was the body shop guys. Low and slow when dealing in snow.

[Fishberry]

7176437
I imagined that earthpony illusionist shows were inspired by a folk tale about two wizards who were performing tricks to show each other up. Unbeknownst to one of them, the other wizard, and the winner, was a tricky earthpony the entire time. Stories of this type of clever deception have counterparts in human folklore as well.

I was thinking something similar to early American folklore, with a title like "A Tale of Two Wizards by Fallow Fields"

[shynight]

7178658
Yep. And for the love of God, do NOT turn on cruise control if you know what's good for you.

[MLai]

7179146

I'm not quite sure what you mean about the moon radiating darkness?

vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/b/bc/Canterlot_between_day_and_night_S4E01.png/revision/latest?cb=20131125161453

[QCosmic Derp]

yay i caught up :)

[KMCA]

7178233 If no one died on them this season than they aren't true Double Black Diamonds.

The last DBD I saw was literally a cliff. Like sheer with nothing but rocks for traction.

[thefirewarde]

7179360 All the ability ratings are supposed to be relative to the particular resort. There are runs in the Southeast that are absolutely double diamonds, and there are also runs that are equal that are merely hard blues in other regions.

That's not to say that the Marketing department doesn't bump the ratings up a bit sometimes.

[Johnny Walker]

7178126 Mmmm, yummy lead chips. Nice box truck though. Where did you get it?

[Admiral Biscuit]

7178138

Gates will be happy with all these fantastic footages.

Yes, he will.

Don't worry about cheating Silver, you are just creating your own brand new awesome sport.

Since there are skiing ponies in canon, I wonder if there is a freestyle pegasus skiing or snowboarding competition? Because that would be awesome.

7178153

Except for Double Black Diamonds... But I've only ever seen 2 of them.

One of the courses at Peggy's home mountain is a double black diamond (Mirkwood Bowl).

7178157

Hope you didn't have any homework this weekend, Silver Glow. You wouldn't want to be a bad pony!

Nope, she did it all early so that she wouldn't have to put off any.

7178221

Another fun chapter. Did she ever try out the other binding, though? I recall her using the magnetic binding the first day, and I half expected her to try the other kind on the second, but I don't recall any other references.

No, they didn't switch bindings because the magnet ones were working fine for her.

Oh, and congrats on breaking the 100k mark on this story!

Thanks!

7178229

I don't know about her still referring to cars by model as if she thinks that's their name. Has she not seen two Camrys in a parking lot yet? It's not like branding would be a stretch for ponies to understand, given Rarity in canon.

She's got to call them something, and their model name is as good as anything. She's already used to calling some cars by name (Focus, Cobalt, Winston), and there's not much reason she'd change that. Really, the only difference is not putting a/an in front of the model name.

[Admiral Biscuit]

7178487

I have this sudden vision of a pony turning to her girl friend and exclaiming they 'love children' and then explaining it's 'cause they don't block the view.

And they're more willing to pet you, so it's really a win-win.

7178603

We had the that funny snowball thingy happen here in San Antonio Tx. Of course this is Texas, it just didn't snow. It rained first, then black ice formed then it snowed.

I used to drive wrecker in Kalamazoo, and you'd think that people in Michigan would know how to cope with slick roads, but nope! The best thing I ever saw was when I was driving from Lansing to Ann Arbor after a light snow. I noticed that just after a county line, there were a lot of cars in the ditch, and guessed that Livingston County hadn't salted the roads yet, so I hit the brakes to get my speed down before I got there. Some genius in a Volvo whipped out past me, and hit the ice at 70, which added his car to the collection.

7178647

Am I a bad person for wanting to see how Silver would react to meeting a midget now?

Probably, but that's okay.

7178669

I imagined that earthpony illusionist shows were inspired by a folk tale about two wizards who were performing tricks to show each other up. Unbeknownst to one of them, the other wizard, and the winner, was a tricky earthpony the entire time. Stories of this type of clever deception have counterparts in human folklore as well

That's certainly a possibility. Such folklore would probably vary by tribe, too; the pegasi and earth ponies might play up the part where the unicorn was outdone, while the unicorns might have the clever gadgets that the earth pony uses being the unfair part of the competition.

Realistically, there would probably be a lot of folklore/old mare's tales and so on that would vary from tribe to tribe, and some others would be appealing to all the tribes.

[Admiral Biscuit]

7179241

yay i caught up :)

7179360

If no one died on them this season than they aren't true Double Black Diamonds.

Out of curiousity, I looked up Monarch Mountain's statistics, and they've gone the last four seasons without a fatality.

7189455

Nice box truck though. Where did you get it?

I bought it ten years ago with the intent of turning it into a cheap RV, and then didn't. It's been sitting in a storage lot since. Now that it's back home, I guess I'll have to figure out what to do with it.

[Winter Quill]

I guess I wasn't supposed to have done that, because the presenter yelled at me and turned off the snow until I flew out of the snow area and promised not to fly back in.

I'm oddly happy to see the presenter reacting like that. Shows they are quick on there feet even in abnormal situations.

[arancaytar]

Of course the food arrived while I was still in the shower. The waiter's eyes got real wide when I opened the door, looking like some weird soap-monster, but to his credit he didn't drop our breakfast.

It certainly has its perks when human nudity taboos don't apply to you.

[Walabio]

> "Also, their machines made little round snowballs instead of flakes. They said that was better, because it sat on the slopes and didn't wear out or melt as quickly as flakes did, and I guess I could understand how that would be better for them, but little round snowballs would not be as satisfactory to me as proper snowflakes."

Before Snowdrop invented the snowflake, all snow in Equestria was little balls:

[Kevin Lee]

I had to pull up on the board a little bit right before I went over her head—she hadn't judged her standing position all that well. And then I glided down faster than I could have, because if I kept my original course, I was going to run into the second floor of the lodge, and I didn't think that would look too good on the camera, so I glided down into the base area.

Chevy Chase would've gone for the window. He always makes it look good on camera!

[Sky Blue CMC]

This was an interesting cheeapter... Don't ponies have snow machines in Cloudsdale? Like, they make the flakes with machines and put those into the clouds?

[Admiral Biscuit]

7280186

It certainly has its perks when human nudity taboos don't apply to you.

Ponies probably aren't bothered by salesponies knocking when they're in the shower. They just invite them in.

Seriously, though, it's really inconvenient sometimes to have to put pants on before answering the door, just because of stupid social rules.

7425762

Before Snowdrop invented the snowflake, all snow in Equestria was little balls:

Yeah, but that was well before Silver Glow's time.

8065199

Don't ponies have snow machines in Cloudsdale? Like, they make the flakes with machines and put those into the clouds?

As I recall, we've only seen clouds come out of machines, although we have also seen snowflakes made outside of clouds in canon, so I'd guess that they have something that puts the flakes in the clouds (and we very well could have seen that in canon, and I'm just not remembering). Either way, the machine, and how it works, would almost certainly be much different than a human machine.

[Seraphem]

I have recently been informed that despite the story clearly bringing up a spa and having Silver react.. there is in fact NO pony going to a human spa in this chapter. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! HISSSSSSS!!!!

I better get this at some point...... Still time to see pony see humans best attempt at making weather.

I woke up with a pounding head from too much spiked hot chocolate last night, my coat matted down, and my mane and tail nothing but tangles.

AKA, just a normal day for Berry Punch.

but I hoped Peggy would be happy to not have to get up and go down to the restaurant and get it.

I'm sure she will. And already mastering Room Service.... this is all just further building up that Silver Glow is just one part of Equestria's insidious plan to train humans to serve ponies! Look how quickly she slips into the role of ordering us around to do her bidding when she's not thinking clearly due to hang over!

I for one welcome our new fluffy equine overlords.

The waiter's eyes got real wide when I opened the door, looking like some weird soap-monster, but to his credit he didn't drop our breakfast.

Wait staff at a resort... he has seen some shit. This is still likely in the top five though.

right after that she realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes and pulled up her blanket to cover herself.

No no, to late... accept the oneness with the Pony way. Accept the blissful freedom that comes with nakey time. Recall how little Silver cares beyond finding it funny how you care so much.

then tossed the blanket over my head and went into the bathroom before I could get it off.

She's already seen everything once.... a rather appropriate aphorism about horses and barn doors comes to mind.

This one was easier than his, because the coffee was already measured out in a little bag,

Hmmmm.. ponies would have fun trying to get a coffee maker working.... though bet they LOVE Keurig machines.

Idiot's Delight.

Apt name.

He probably wasn't expecting me to have flown up next to him.

Very few would expect sudden pegasus.

Or have realized that Feline additions to Ponies genetic make up that make them so curious.

and she said that we could go watch that.

Like she would deny a pony.

I tried not to, because it felt like I was cheating, but I couldn't help my instincts.

So long as you look awesome doing it you'll be fine.

which was nice—small children are easy for me to see over.

"Without flying"

Also, assuming they don't swarm the pony.

but little round snowballs would not be as satisfactory to me as proper snowflakes.

Silly humans never had Snowdrop to teach them how make proper flakes.

and of course I raised my hoof, and I got chosen!

Who wouldn't want an excuse to watch a pony be happy cute?

I flew around front to get a feel for what it was doing

All the trouble humans put into idiot proofing things... only to now have to go and try to Pony Proof them from curious equines.

Gates probably wouldn't be expecting to have video footage shot down the barrel of a snowgun.

Very true. Ponies will always surprise you.

She said I was probably experienced enough,

Two and a half days? Sure. besides, wings are useful enough.

and if I got in trouble to just fly out of it.

Exactly.

. So I wound up crashing headfirst into the ramp.

What sports video is complete without a blooper real?

I really want to see the take form the camera on that one.

she hadn't judged her standing position all that well.

Giving your ride home a concussion is not likely a good idea.

I was going to run into the second floor of the lodge, and I didn't think that would look too good on the camera,

.. I would have to disagree.

Now, how soon till Pony Insurance becomes common?

but I wound up doing neither and falling asleep on top of my bed instead, and not waking up until Monday morning.

Now I'm imagining her just passing down, face down on the wrong end of the bed, hind end up and wings splayed while a puddle of drool forms around her muzzle.....

[Admiral Biscuit]

8090434

I have recently been informed that despite the story clearly bringing up a spa and having Silver react.. there is in fact NO pony going to a human spa in this chapter. BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! HISSSSSSS!!!!
I better get this at some point......

Sorry
She does eventually wind up at a human spa, and also a salon.

AKA, just a normal day for Berry Punch.

Berry Punch don't give a st.

I'm sure she will. And already mastering Room Service.... this is all just further building up that Silver Glow is just one part of Equestria's insidious plan to train humans to serve ponies! Look how quickly she slips into the role of ordering us around to do her bidding when she's not thinking clearly due to hang over!

It's true--you've caught on to their master plan!

I for one welcome our new fluffy equine overlords.

As do I.

Wait staff at a resort... he has seen some shit. This is still likely in the top five though.

The poor guy; he probably wasn't expecting it at all.

No no, to late... accept the oneness with the Pony way. Accept the blissful freedom that comes with nakey time. Recall how little Silver cares beyond finding it funny how you care so much.

Poor Peggy, stuck with her human morals in a room with a pony who doesn't get it at all. Perhaps Silver Glow just needs to work at it some more, and she'll be able to get her human friends on board with naked time.

She's already seen everything once.... a rather appropriate aphorism about horses and barn doors comes to mind.

Yeah, that's quite true.

Hmmmm.. ponies would have fun trying to get a coffee maker working.... though bet they LOVE Keurig machines.

They're not that complicated. The Keurig machine at the last hotel I visited was really temperamental, incidentally. I didn't like it very much.

Apt name.

And it's an actual name of a run there, too.

Very few would expect sudden pegasus.

Yeah, it would take a while to get used to looking around for fliers.

Or have realized that Feline additions to Ponies genetic make up that make them so curious.

Ponies are at least 10% cat, especially pegasi.

Like she would deny a pony.

Plus, she probably wants to watch, too. Now she's got an excuse.

So long as you look awesome doing it you'll be fine.

Silver Glow always looks awesome when she's doing things. She's that kind of pony.

Also, assuming they don't swarm the pony.

You've got to figure that getting swarmed by children is such a common thing for ponies that they hardly mention it at all.

Silly humans never had Snowdrop to teach them how make proper flakes.

I know, right? Somebody ought to fix the snow machine so it makes good flakes. I bet Silver Glow could help them with that.

(I'd imagine that there are some pegasi who get industrial training to work in the cloud factories--can you imagine if the weather professor was talking to one of them?)

Who wouldn't want an excuse to watch a pony be happy cute?

Nobody, of course.

All the trouble humans put into idiot proofing things... only to now have to go and try to Pony Proof them from curious equines.

It's completely undoable. Between pegasi flight, and unicorn magic, you can't pony proof anything.

Gates probably wouldn't be expecting to have video footage shot down the barrel of a snowgun.

Very true. Ponies will always surprise you.

Although that's most likely some of the most interesting footage that he got.

Two and a half days? Sure. besides, wings are useful enough.

That's Silver's 'get out of trouble free' card. Fly over it, or use the wings to brake.

What sports video is complete without a blooper real?
I really want to see the take form the camera on that one.

Giving your ride home a concussion is not likely a good idea.

No, it really isn't. And Peggy probably wouldn't want to let Silver Glow drive home.

.. I would have to disagree.

Now, how soon till Pony Insurance becomes common?

Insurance for ponies, or insurance from ponies?

Now I'm imagining her just passing down, face down on the wrong end of the bed, hind end up and wings splayed while a puddle of drool forms around her muzzle.....

That would be quite the sight. And everybody would be pretending to not notice her junk just out there for the world to see (not that she'd care).

[Nyerguds]

The waiter's eyes got real wide when I opened the door, looking like some weird soap-monster, but to his credit he didn't drop our breakfast.

What a pro

She poured herself a cup of coffee, added a little bit of the Kahlua to it, and then sat on her bed and sipped at it.

Really? Starting the day off with spiked coffee?

We had to check out of our room, too, which meant that we had to pack everything up and take it back to Cobalt.

Doesn't that mean they won't be able to shower after this day, though?

So we took a few runs down Mister Moll, and then went over to Idiot's Delight.

Idiot's Delight being the black diamond course I guess? What a brilliant name

Idiot's Delight wasn't that much harder for me, but my wings gave me an unfair advantage. I could soar over the difficult patches. I tried not to, because it felt like I was cheating, but I couldn't help my instincts.

Hah, nice. Well, looks like her magnet-boots are working out great, at least

and I thought about reading Aquamarine's letter, but I wound up doing neither and falling asleep on top of my bed instead, and not waking up until Monday morning.

Yeah... understandable, after all that.

[Admiral Biscuit]

8174973

What a pro

It's possible that she's not the strangest thing he's seen. She's gotta be on the top ten list, though.

Really? Starting the day off with spiked coffee?

A little bit of hair of the dog to start out the morning.

Doesn't that mean they won't be able to shower after this day, though?

Yeah, until they get back to the dorms. Or else they could wait until the next morning.

Idiot's Delight being the black diamond course I guess? What a brilliant name

And I'd like to point out that those are indeed actual runs at Boyne Mountain. So if you're into downhill skiing or snowboarding, and in Michigan, you can have the Silver Glow experience (TM)*
_____________________
*except for the flying part, of course. Also a shared hot tub is not guaranteed, either.

Hah, nice. Well, looks like her magnet-boots are working out great, at least

Magnets are the way to go.

Yeah... understandable, after all that.

Sometimes after a weekend of fun, you've just got to sleep and recover. That was what I did after the con last weekend. Hopefully, my sleep schedule is now back to normal. . . .

[Luna Aeterna Solutae]

Since you do a lot of RESEARCH I keep waiting for you to mention that Silvy would weigh about 3-400 pounds.
I also think it would be funnier if she wasn't really impressed with the snowgun or was kinda patronizing about it- it's like a toy compared to the cloudmachines we've seen, and of course the Weather Factory.

8068777
I mean you don't have to. It makes talking to Jehovah's Witnesses more fun.

[Admiral Biscuit]

9228418

Since you do a lot of RESEARCH I keep waiting for you to mention that Silvy would weigh about 3-400 pounds.

Well, I do do a lot of research, and also I occasionally delve into experiments. And I once--many years ago--undertook one where in one week I read a fic that pinned the ponies at 400 pounds or so, and another that opined that they were about 40. Figured that with a few assumptions, some scale models, and suckering someone else into doing the actual math (because I suck at math) we’d get a decent number.

The short version of it is that an Earth Pony (Applejack) likely weighs 106-152 pounds.

I’d assume that pegasi are smaller and lighter than Earth Ponies.

The longer version of it is SCIENCE!

I also think it would be funnier if she wasn't really impressed with the snowgun or was kinda patronizing about it- it's like a toy compared to the cloudmachines we've seen, and of course the Weather Factory.

Well, on the one hand it’s not nearly as good at the kind of snow cannons they have at the weather factory, and I think that she did remark on how it didn’t make proper snowflakes. On the other hand, it’s a pretty amazing thing for humans to have invented without any pegasus magic.

I mean you don't have to. It makes talking to Jehovah's Witnesses more fun.

I don’t get them where I live, which is kind of a shame.

I’d really have to figure out what the laws are for sure before committing to answering the door that way.

[Herald of Opera]

a black diamond course (which is the hardest rating)

Double Diamond: Am I a joke to you?

Oh, and his existence means the ponies probably use a similar system. Of course, just because I know what it all means without having really tried to ski doesn't mean everypony else would. (The last time I saw my now-stepfather, he had been recently injured in a skiing accident. Recently enough that he still needed crutches and so I didn't punch him because even I'm not that much of a jerk.)

EDIT:

At first he was surprised to see me and I don't think he was used to people talking to him when he worked.

There's also the "holy crap, a magical talking pony" factor, but I suppose it would still be at least a little awkward if you were human.

if I kept my original course, I was going to run into the second floor of the lodge, and I didn't think that would look too good on the camera,

It'd be a hilarious way to end the final video, though.

[Admiral Biscuit]

10927770

Double Diamond: Am I a joke to you?

Kinda?
derpicdn.net/img/view/2021/6/23/2641387.png

Oh, and his existence means the ponies probably use a similar system. Of course, just because I know what it all means without having really tried to ski doesn't mean everypony else would. (The last time I saw my now-stepfather, he had been recently injured in a skiing accident. Recently enough that he still needed crutches and so I didn't punch him because even I'm not that much of a jerk.)

There is some translation convenience I’ve always assumed when it comes to pony names (but of course that’s a YMMV thing). I honestly can’t see downhill skiing being such a thing for the ponies that they’d even have courses or resorts as we think of them (which are of course a reasonably modern invention). I do think that the idea of black diamond slopes being the hardest is kinda in popular culture, but I really have no idea what the full ranking system is; the skiiing I did when younger was all cross-country.

There's also the "holy crap, a magical talking pony" factor, but I suppose it would still be at least a little awkward if you were human.

Yeah, although this story does assume that human/pony contact has been going on for a while, so at least the idea of ponies would be known to most.

It'd be a hilarious way to end the final video, though.

It really would.