A Deer Named John - Teapot Tales

by Tael_Spinner

SA1-C9: Legend of the Snowshark

Comet Streak

My hooves rhythmically worked the cloud beneath me. It was like giving it a fast massage as I tapped the snow loose to flutter down and cover everything below. This was a far softer, gentler approach. It wasn’t like the first drop the day before where everyone was ordered by the Weather Team leader to slam the clouds as hard and fast as they could to drop as much snow in a single moment.

Rainbow Dash. The lead weather pony. She worked alongside us even as she barked out encouragement to keep us all on task. “Keep working those clouds, everypony! I know we’re all tired, but we need to beat the quota! Push through the pain and blame the weather delivery crew later!”

And we all pushed on. Although many grumbled about the job and how long we had been doing it, none of us had quit. Pegasus, bat pony, even the few gryphons in town kept working away while below, the world was waking to what would be a fresh snowy morning.

Peeking through a gap in the clouds, I could see a familiar white-maned unicorn with dark coat stepping out of our shared temporary house. He looked around quickly then rushed off toward the town. I did my best to keep my eye on him but another shout of encouragement from Rainbow Dash ripped my attention away.

“Only two more flurries to go, then we go get some ciders!”

When I looked again, the gap had closed up and a blonde maned, grey pegasus mare was now working the clouds where the opening had been. She looked exhausted but kept up her smile. As did many of the other pegasi. I would have to look for Shield Breaker when we were done. Make sure he was not still mad about me dumping snow on him yesterday.

I shook my head. That was for later. Now was work.

Pushing through the pain, it was definitely the rule Rainbow Dash lived by, and boy was there pain! Backs ached and legs burned. Even my wings were sore from base to tip. I didn’t know that was possible, but as we neared the end of twenty-four straight hours of combined set-up and snow drop, I sure knew it now!

Looking around, a few workers still bounced joyously while others trudged along. Where they got their energy from, especially the pegasi ones, I did not know.

“Less than half a hoof left!”

My eyes rolled up and I felt a smile stretch my mouth, but I kept my hooves moving. The words were music to my ears. Not long now. Just a little more. The call of only a quarter of a hoof remaining nearly missed my ears as I doubled down to finally get this job finished. Grunting and aching from the near continuous effort, I was still focused on the task of shaking snow loose when a sharp whistle on the wind caused my ears to snap back against my scalp.

“That’s all, everypony!” called Rainbow Dash, her husky voice was music to my ears.

All around me, ponies started dropping. Not to the ground. Just to the soft cool clouds they had been working on for so many hours. I fell with them, the cold of the clouds a relief on my aching body. Even my lungs were burning but the crisp air I sucked in to fill them was just what they needed to soothe the fire within.

There were, of course, the few who still stood tall, though the droops of their tails and mess of their manes told a different story. The one who stood the tallest even took to the air where everyone could see her.

“Good job,” Rainbow Dash called out above the clouds and ponies alike. With a pump of a front hoof to the sky above, she declared, “Time to get some cider! You’ve all earned it!”

Grunts and groans erupted around me as ponies forced themselves back onto their hooves and started staggering forward. Some let their wings hang low, the tips of feathers or trailing wing fingers dragging along the clouds making strange trails for anyone watching from below. Yet through the aches, pains and tiredness, there were so many happy faces.

We had done it. Even while the ponies on the ground celebrated the last moments before the snow. We had brought Winter to Ponyville and its surrounds just in time.

Reaching a break in the clouds, we spread our wings and lurched onto the air below with Rainbow Dash’s colourful form leading the way. I can’t say it was a graceful flight, with everyone being so tired, but at least it wasn’t a long one. Most of those around me just held out their wings and glided. A few drifted off course but, either corrected themselves, or had a friend slip in beside them to help point them in the right direction.

With such an easy flight, only a wingbeat every now and again, I was able to observe the ponies of the ground as they moved about the beginnings of their day.

Most had already moved to wearing boots, scarves and other warmer items. One particular grounded bat pony had a slender dragon trying to coil itself around her body and neck. Any time even one of the dragon’s claws touched the snow, it struggled and squirmed to wrap itself even tighter and higher around its bat pony ride.

Sweeping into a banked turn over the main shopping strip, I spotted Jackie jumping in and out of the snow, much to the clear annoyance from the scowl Richard pointed his way. The frequent blasts of snow from Jackie clearly angering him even further. Spears appeared to smile at Jackie’s antics but repeatedly drew his attention back to John, who walked beside him, as they passed Jackie’s latest snowdrift slam session.

The ridge of fur running down Richard’s spine bristled as he shook off the latest splash of snow from Jackie. He scowled at the frolicking yak and growled in annoyance, easily loud enough for bat ears to hear, “Getting too comfortable being native.”

I slowed my flight with a few wingbeats, letting others pass me as I circled lazily to listen in. Richard shot the glare over at John, adding, “Better watch him or you’ll lose your sister to being a beast in this world.”

“At least I’m having fun!” Jackie shot back as he watched Richard trot away from the group. Jackie let out a loud grumble, set his shoulders, then stomped out of the drift he had been jumping in to put even more distance between him and Richard. I watched Jackie storm away before the usually confident, now slightly trembling, voice of Spears reached my ears.

“Well, want to go for a warm drink?”

I blinked and gave another flap of my wings, doing my best to hover close to John and Spears, the only ones who remained beneath me. They also appeared not to notice me as I passed close to the roof of a nearby café.

John looked caught off guard by the question and quickly shook her head. Spears’ hopeful expression fell before John finally spoke, “Uh, sounds good?”

Her mind still elsewhere, John frowned as she glanced after Richard, then Jackie as the two took different paths. She sighed, adding, “Think they both need to cool off.”

I smirked to myself, watching as Spears’s smile returned and he appeared to float over the snow while leading John to the café door.

My ears twitched and turned at the approaching sound of feathered wings flapping at the air. A smoky white pegasus mare approached me. She frowned at me from beneath her mane of pink and green stripes and said, “Hey, I know you’re new here, so you might want to make sure you aren’t late to the bar. Rainbow Dash has zero control regarding cider and you might miss out.”

She hovered for a second more before flying after the others. It only took a glance around me to notice how few of us were still in the sky, all heading in the same direction. Taking the warning, I fell in behind her, watching her tail as it whipped about behind her as she flew.

As we passed the market stalls, I spotted Cremator wearing a woollen hat and scarf. There was a rucksack strapped to her back and from it she pulled other woollen items; another scarf and hat. Boo stood nearby, looking at the wares at one of the stalls and Cremator was watching her carefully. I blinked and nearly missed the next moment. Cremator closed the gap between them with a hop and spread wings. She struck with a grin, pulling a similar hat to her own down on Boo’s head, enough to cover her eyes.

Boo’s wings flared as if to flee but Cremator quickly wrapped the scarf in her claws around the pretend-pegasi’s neck then tied it loosely. Before Boo was able to lift the hat from covering her eyes, Cremator spread her wings again, clutched onto her bag and darted off in search of another target, bringing woolly warmth to all who didn’t yet have any of their own. The startled disguised changeling looked about in search of her attacker, but I couldn’t tell if she spotted Cremator or not as I flared my wings for a landing in front of the bar.

This was definitely the place to be if you had wings and worked the clouds as there were so many of us. The line was two ponies wide and still stretched out the front door even as more arrived. As I neared the door, I spotted Shield Breaker’s mentor sitting at one of the outside tables under the protection the overhanging veranda roof. A mug sat on the table in front of him, a shimmer of warmth rising just above it on the cold air.

Ochre touched a hoof to the brim of his hat when he noticed me watching him. He then pulled the brim of his hat down and settled himself deeper into the chair.

When I finally entered the bar, I was hit by a wall of sounds: chatting, chair legs grinding on the floor as they moved, hooves stomping and the flap of many, many wings. My ears flattened against my head, trying to lessen the noise as a couple of pegasi chased each other overhead even while both of them carried their cider mugs. Soon I got my mug and took a seat with a few other bat ponies who looked just as tired as I felt.

Though, with all the exhaustion, there was nothing but celebration in the air. I held up my mug and cheered with the rest when Rainbow Dash, probably on her fourth mug by then, made a toast to our success in bringing Winter just on time.

While I sat and sipped my cider, feeling the tingle of it running down my throat, I watched the last arrivals of the pegasi, bat ponies and gryphons. I arched an eyebrow at the bunch right at the end of the line who had similar scarves and woollen hats. I smirked to myself. Looked like Cremator had continued her odd little game.

Even after the winner of the Wonderbolts tickets was announced, Rainbow Dash continued to enjoy the flowing cider despite looking annoyed about not getting the tickets.

When I staggered back outside, I squinted at the extra light reflecting off the snow. The world shimmered in front of me with an oddly golden tint. Recognising a veil of unicorn magic, I glanced to my left to find Ochre still sitting at his table, a yellow glow of magic wrapped around his horn. He took a sip from his mug then held it in hoof without his magic ever touching it.

I eyed him tiredly for a moment, even as two pegasi stumbled from the bar between us. I watched them from the corner of my eye as they passed harmlessly through magical glow, then looked to the old unicorn again. Seconds after the two pegasi stepped out into the wider world there was a flurry of pap pap pap sounds before two heavy thumps.

I quickly turned in time to see both pegasi now laying on the ground. Their bodies covered in the powdery bursts of several snowballs even as a few more snowballs sailed through the air, somehow missing their groaning forms before bursting on the ground.

I looked at Ochre again, shaking off a little of the tiredness thanks to what I had just seen. “What’s going on?”

Ochre raised his mug, sipped his cider, lowered it, gave a contented sigh and said, “Snowball fight.”

“Snowball fight?”

Ochre nodded as if this were the most normal thing in the world. “Yep. Annual event in places like this.”

I looked at the two snowball victims as they struggled back onto their hooves. I blinked at them and eyed Ochre again. “Are you joking?”

Ochre held his mug just short of his lips, sniffed and said, “Happens in small towns after the first big snow fall. Helps ponies get a little stress out after the hard work of harvesting and bringing the Winter weather.”

Another group of winged ponies passed between Ochre and myself, not even noticing our presence. They didn’t even see the snowballs. Two of them even managed to take to the air before being struck by snowballs and crashing into the taller snowdrifts to the sides of the nearby buildings.

I winced and cringed away from the sight. “Can’t you help them?”

“My magic can only stretch so far,” Ochre muttered. “I’m not as gifted with it as that friend of yours.”

He took another sip then raised his head to closely examine the side of his mug. “Speaking of him, I may have told him a story.”

Two snowballs struck the magical shield, lighting it up on impact as the powder crumbled to the ground.

“See, there’s a game some play in the places where the snow meets the sea,” Ochre continued. “Where ponies of the water come ashore and mingle with the land folk, when the snow is high enough and they can stay cool.”

He shifted on his chair. “Thing is, the kind ones weren’t the only ponies to leave the water. Monsters with many sharp teeth took on pony forms to steal ponies on the coldest snow-filled nights. The only way to fight them off was with the ice and snow. It was all they had and all they could spare. The land ponies got together and chased the monsters back into the sea. That’s where we get the legend of the Snowshark.”

I blinked at him then chuckled. “Snowshark?”

Ochre sipped at his mug. “You may laugh, but what you’re seeing here is the work of a Snowshark. Not one of legend, but one taking on the role. This one doesn’t tend to bite much, doesn’t have the teeth for it. Instead, they use the snow to take out their targets. Beat the land and sky ponies at their own game. One played by foals and the foalish alike.”

Ochre raised his mug and nodded at the sight of the defeated pegasi as they dragged themselves off to some form of shelter. “You see now, this particular Snowshark is somewhat of an introduced species. New to its surrounds but adaptable.”

Ochre raised an eyebrow and pointed at me with a hoof. “The biggest difficulty for the Snowshark is remaining undetected. That is a large part of why it is so rare. Matching its surroundings has always been the key. Difficult but not impossible during most snowfalls, it becomes much easier when the drifts become taller. A time when unsuspecting ponies and other creatures must take care, lest they fall prey to the Snowshark’s stealthy strike.”

“So, Shield Breaker is…”

Ochre nodded.

“John and Spears are at the café, so they should be safe,” I murmured. “Even if they leave, Spears has shield spells so they’ll be fine. Cremator could outfly anything thrown at her. Jackie–”

I suddenly gasped then turned to look out at the world beyond the small magical shield. I bit my lip and much of my exhaustion drained away. Jackie, Boo and Richard were probably still out there. I jumped at the splut of snow against the wall beside me. This one had missed the shield. Maybe their aim was getting worse.

“Don’t expect to last long out there if you stay still like that,” Ochre said as he set his empty mug on the table.

As if to make his point, three more snowballs struck his magical barrier and broke apart, a fourth, however, passed straight through. I ducked as a snowball sailed past my ear and through the open door to the bar. Everypony inside went deathly silent.

“Is… Is that a snowball?” asked a soft voice. It was quickly drowned out by a cry from a huskier voice. “Snowshark!”

The sound which followed was like all the monsters in Tartarus breaking loose. I barely had time to leap out of the way as the ponies in the bar charged outside and galloped into the face of a snowball barrage.

I could only watch as the ponies surged forward, some taking to the skies, as a wide arc of snowballs flew up from between the neighbouring buildings. Some were hit and sent sprawling to the ground. Others managed to dodge the blows, taking to the skies; Rainbow Dash shouting as she shot out above the rest. “Get the Snowshark!”

I stared out at the carnage before me, swallowed hard and murmured, “Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof.”

I glanced back at Ochre but couldn’t see him through the charge of ponies and wings. I shook my head then opened my wings a little as I darted out with the last few daring ponies from the bar. Unlike the others, I kept my head low and ran on light hooves. Using my wings to catch the air and make sharp turns whenever snowballs threatened to hit me, I raced through the streets of Ponyville.

Ponies with wings and the local gryphons weren’t the only ones on the attack. Unicorns and earth ponies were just as dangerous as I spotted a magically assisted snowball barrage as it peppered the sky, taking down the least observant fliers. Nearby houses slammed their doors shut before multiple snowballs struck them, leaving powdered splotches as evidence of the attack.

Passing the library tree, I caught a glimpse of Twilight Sparkle stepping out in her warmest Winter attire. Joined by her young dragon assistant, Spike, and the former human-now-unicorn sort of protégé, Sapphire Moonlight. Twilight was busy using her magic to adjust the clothing worn by both of her companions, when they all disappeared as a sheet of snow fell on them from an overhanging branch. All three yelped in alarm while the culprit, one Rainbow Dash, flew further into town, cackling wildly with glee.

I dodged left. A snowball narrowly missed me. Glancing over my shoulder, a Prussian blue bat pony stumbled backward on her hind legs, a front leg covering her eyes as she declared, “They got me!”

She staggered a few more steps, peeking at her surroundings from behind her hoof before the scene ended with her flopping into a snowdrift as if she had been a character shot in a low budget movie.

Passing the Mayor’s house, I entered the plaza and found it to be a snowy warzone. Snowballs were flying in all directions and snow forts were everywhere; yet none were as elaborate as those formed around Sugarcube Corner. The walls had been carved to resemble several layers of large bricks and looked like they were normal attachments to the building itself. There were even fortifications on the roof, from which I spotted Pinkie Pie shouting orders to those in the fort below.

The heads of Rarity and Applejack popped up on occasion as the two launched attacks on the other forts, especially those who tried to charge their position. Even with their defences, they weren’t immune from hits. Applejack jumped up to hurl another snowball but took a shot right to the snout sending her tumbling back into the fort.

Rarity let out peals of laughter which was a wrong move as a snowball struck her mane, filling it with crumbling snow. Her horn lit with magic and she grit her teeth as a whole stack of snowballs rose behind her in an anger-fuelled glow. She glared out at the rest of the forts and the few pony faces she could see, declaring, “It. IS. ON!”

What followed was just insanity, which sent me, one of the most exposed targets, jumping and dodging in any way I could. I even brought a wing up to shield my head from attacks. Sure, it was cold and stung, but it was better than being temporarily blinded.

“Ooo! Ooo! Hi sisters!” Pinkie shouted excitedly, probably still on her high lookout post.

Bracing myself against another round of snowballs against my wing, I caught sight of two earth ponies, their coats and manes of differing greys, pulling a sled with a set of large rocks lashed to it. My snout broke into a smile when I saw them.

It was two of the mares I had met on the rockfarm a few months ago; the softly spoken Marble and the easily angered Limestone. I was suddenly glad Shield Breaker wasn’t around. At least I had yet to spot him. I gasped in surprise and alarm as they headed straight into the plaza of snow forts.

I clenched my teeth and, when I felt the attack against me lessen, turned and darted across the plaza, sometimes dashing up the sides of snow forts, ducking into the trenches between at others. All the time dodging the attacks or using my wings as shields as I raced toward the unsuspecting duo.

When they entered the danger zone, I leaped in front of them, swatting at snowballs with hoof and wings alike as I twirled through the air in front of the mares. I landed, breathing heavily and wings drooping as my eyes darted from fort to fort in search of the next strike.

When I finally faced the sisters, I suddenly startled. They were both now wearing scarves and woollen hats which weren’t on them before. Limestone was also screaming after the fleeing form of a familiar green dragoness. I chuckled to myself and shook my head. Cremator was still at it.

A near-miss from another snowball brought me back to the world in front of me. I glanced at Limestone and Marble then hopped in front of them, using a wing to shield them as well as myself from frontal attack.

“Are you unharmed?” I asked. When I turned to face the familiar grey earth pony mares, I felt my heart soar. Oh, sie ist wunderschön.

Marble stared at me with huge shimmering eyes as if she were a character in an anime and I her heroic saviour. It felt like time had stopped as I slipped deeper into her gaze and a silent conversation passed between us.

“Milady, art thou all right?”

“Mmhmm.” She nodded meekly.

I spread my wings wide and held out a hoof to her. “Come, milady. Let mine very wings themselves shield thee from harm.”

“Mm-mmhmm…” With cheeks burning from her blush, she meekly nodded again.

I leaned forward, just drinking in the moment and, with how tired I was, my mind wandered to more thoughts about this very mare. Sie macht mich so–

“Oh, come on!” Limestone’s harsh tones ripped us from our shared moment. “Try to make eyes at my sister later! We’ve got a package to prote– hurk!”

“Limey!” And suddenly Pinkie Pie was there, wrapping Limestone in the biggest hug she could while Limestone struggled against her for freedom. Seconds later, Limestone was free to suck in several heavy breaths while Marble received a similar hug from Pinkie.

“Pinkie!” Limestone growled, her chest still heaving.

“What are you doing here, dear sisters mine?” Pinkie beamed even while I did my best to fend off incoming snowballs. “Ooo, nice hats and scarves by the way!”

Marble pulled her hat down to try and hide her continuing blush a little more.

“For your information,” Limestone stated, prodding at Pinkie’s chest with a front hoof to emphasise her point while keeping distance between them. “We were trying to deliver an order of crystals to one Professor Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville. Special request. Bits on delivery!”

“I know Twilight!” Pinkie beamed as snowballs rained down around us. She rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Didn’t know she was a Professor though.”

Pinkie sprang up as three snowballs splattered into the spot where she had been standing. I stared in wonder. It was hard to tell if she had deliberately dodged them or simply moved in excitement. “We should ask her about it. Come on! I’ll show you the way!”

Pinkie started out into the plaza of snow fighting, humming to herself and seeming oblivious to everything happening around her. Limestone grumbled in frustration but took up the slack on the sled again.

With a glance and a half smile at Marble, I hopped to the side so they could follow their sister at a trot while I did my best to jump in and defend them and their cargo from incoming snow attacks.

We had just passed Sugarcube Corner when a wave of snow erupted from beneath the sled and sent it toppling, along with Limestone and Marble, who were still lashed to the front of it. The wave knocked me aside as I darted in to help and I crashed to the ground.

Shaking off the hit, I heard screams from among the surrounding forts as what looked like hundreds of snowballs pelted down on them from the sky. Even the flying ponies were no match for this size of attack. Those who didn’t immediately flee the area were quickly struck and shot down.

When it was all over, only our little group remained. There were even weak cries lamenting the attack from those in the defeated forts. The nearest one I heard was from a mare saying, “The horror… the horror…”

I moved in next to Limestone and Marble as they returned to their hooves. We had no time to help those in the forts as a new batch of snowballs rose from the drifts around us. They floated in the air as if held by unicorn magic but all I could see was the white of the snowballs themselves. Even the drifts appeared to grow as a wave swept through them, rising with each pass, encircling us and the sled with a wall of snow.

Watching the front of the wave as it rolled around the continuous snow drift, I thought I spotted something. Shaking my head, I turned and started chasing the wave, my sight fixed on the very top and front of it. There was something there. I squinted. Something white but not of snow. The very top of a pony’s mane peeking through like a shark fin.

I gasped and skidded to a stop. “Snowshark!”

With me distracted, the snowballs struck, peppering my body all over as I was driven into the ground. It was cold. So very, very cold.

After I fell. The wave slowed and the drifts began to shrink. I watched from where I lay as Shield Breaker, his horn glowing white, stepped out of the front of the snow wave, the drifts trailing off behind him until they were less than ankle deep. He soon stood over me, looking down on me. I had been defeated. The Snowshark had won.

“That’s for dumping snow on me after the contest,” Shield Breaker stated.

I blinked. Really?

“Hey, Peach Cobbler!”

A snowball narrowly missed Shield Breaker’s nose and we both watched it hit the front door of Sugarcube Corner. That had definitely been thrown with a lot of force!

Shield Breaker and I turned to see Limestone and Marble staring Shield Breaker down; Marble looking as brave as ever beside her big sister. A smirk broke across Limestone’s lips. “Game’s not over yet!”

“Bring it on, Rock Roller!” Shield Breaker shot back, mirroring Limestone’s smirk as he ignited the magic around his horn. Loads of snowballs formed up and rose from the ground behind Shield Breaker as he stepped away from me. The white of his magic’s aura merged with the white of the snow, hiding it from sight. No wonder it was so hard to see the magic!

Limestone and Marble didn’t move. They simply waited for the battle to begin. I wanted to shout at them to run, but I was just too tired, not to mention sore from the snowball strikes.

When Shield Breaker noticed they hadn’t bothered to make any snowballs, he chuckled to himself then floated his arsenal in close, ready to strike. Keeping it simple, Shield Breaker only launched two snowballs; one for each mare. He didn’t hurl them very fast, clearly deciding he would toy with the two sisters.

When the snowballs neared, the two grey mares suddenly moved. Limestone swept low, ducking the one aimed at her, while Marble sprang into the air, easily clearing the other.

I heard Shield Breaker chuckle again, and watched in awe at the most amazing thing I had seen in weeks since discovering so much about this world. Marble hit the ground, front hooves first, with such force that two blobs of snow launched themselves straight up into the air in front of her.

Limestone, still spinning in her long sweep, pushed off the ground and swung through with her back legs. First left, then right. Both connected with the blobs of snow in turn, kicking them with such force they rocketed past Shield Breaker only an inch from either side of his head and knocking out two of his waiting snowballs.

My jaw fell open.

When Shield Breaker’s mane flopped back into place from the force of the wind as the two snowy missiles shot past him, he had to shake the surprise out of his mind and expression. Shield Breaker narrowed his eyelids and glared at the two mares. Limestone and Marble simply prepared for their next move. Grinding his teeth together, Shield Breaker didn’t hold back as he launched the next round.

The fight was on!

Shield Breaker fired volley after volley, the snow of his shots frequently brushed past the manes or tails of the two mares, but Limestone and Marble moved like water. Slipping, side-stepping, ducking and leaping, they dodged every shot Shield Breaker took. Although, even with their mesmerising technique, neither manage to strike him in return after he brought up a magical shield.

Back and forth. Back and forth, the snowballs flew. Other ponies already defeated in the snow forts emerged and came as close as they dared to watch the spectacle. Still, those watching had to duck and dodge on occasion unless they wanted a snowball in the face. Pinkie Pie, of course, bounced on the spot she was watching from, cheering on her two sisters in their battle.

It was a surprisingly even match, considering it was two earth ponies facing the magical might of a unicorn. But, whether it was from creeping exhaustion, or the slippery ground, the fatal mistake eventually came.

Marble slipped on take-off and I felt my heart go with her. She flew through the air before landing with a heavy thump on her bottom before Shield Breaker took his chance and peppered her with three quick snowball shots.

Limestone ducked another of the attacks from Shield Breaker. However, having no more ammunition from her sister, she dropped down beside Marble to check on her. If anything passed between them, I didn’t hear it. Even as I staggered over to check on Marble myself. Shield Breaker had begun to gloat as if he were a cartoon villain.

“What now?” he asked, smirking as he set himself, raising more snowballs with his magic. “It was a good trick, but you’re on your own and you never once made a snowball you kicked at me.”

His shield vanished as the snowballs starting coming together, merging. Forming a single giant snowball which floated above Shield Breaker’s head.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” someone shouted.

Limestone brushed it off as she rose from her sister’s side and stepped clear of her. She readied herself, a single front hoof raised fractionally above the ground. All the while the snowball grew bigger until it was far larger than any pony I had yet met.

“Ready to lose?” Shield Breaker asked, a drop of sweat slid down his cheek from his forehead from the continued use of his magic.

Limestone said nothing. She just stood there. Waiting.

When he was ready, Shield Breaker eased the giant snowball back a short way with his magic before hurling it forward; straight at Limestone. Limestone didn’t move until she was about to be hit. The crowd gasped as one knowing she would soon be splattered under a mound of snow. Shield Breaker scoffed and turned his back, standing proud and victorious.

But then… she moved.

With a grunt and gritted teeth in determination, Limestone rose onto her hind legs and stepped to the side as if to let the snowball pass her by. Instead, she let a front hoof catch it. Without killing its momentum, Limestone cradled it with her hoof, guiding it in a tight turn as she circled on the spot, almost dancing with the snowball.

When the moment was right, Limestone pulled her hoof away, sending the giant snowball, with all its pent-up momentum, high into the air. It sailed so high into the sky that a grey pegasus in silver armour suddenly had to dodge or be hit.

Reaching its apex, the giant snowball came hurtling back. Straight down on its new target. It hit with a heavy SPLUT! In that moment, Shield Breaker disappeared in a pile of snow.

“WOO HOO!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “That’s my big sister! You rock, Limey!”

Others quickly joined her cheers when it became clear that the only part of Shield Breaker to be injured was his ego.

By the time Limestone had walked over to the impact site, Shield Breaker had managed to partially drag himself out of the snow. Limestone stood over Shield Breaker, a sneer on her face as she flicked her mane out of her eyes. “Don’t bring magic to an Earth Pony fight!”

In the excitement of the moment, I grabbed hold of Marble, a front leg around her shoulders and pulled her close before lightly shaking her.

“That was amazing,” I said, smiling the whole time. Even with how tired and physically drained I was from everything, I looked her square in the face and said, “You were amazing!”

“Mm-mmhmm,” Marble mumbled, smiling as she blushed at my compliment.

The celebrations were short lived as the armoured pegasus, who had nearly been struck by the giant snowball in the sky, landed with military precision in front of Limestone. The armoured pegasus mare surveyed the fallout from the snow-based war. “What in Equestria happened here?”

Limestone simply shrugged and said, “Snowshark.”

“Oh,” the mare blinked. “You play that here, too?”

Before anyone could answer, she shook her head, drew herself up into an official-looking stance and declared, “I am Private Silver Wing. I come with a message for Lieutenant Spears. Does anypony know where I may find him?”

Author's Note:

Translations:

Oh, sie ist wunderschön – Oh, she is gorgeous

Sie macht mich so– – She makes me so–

Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof – Life isn’t a pony farm. (Honestly, I saw this phrase and thought, yep. Got to get this one in there somehow.)

Other Notes:

This is the final chapter in this first side arc of chapters. Next time, we dive into the second main arc. Hope to see you there!

If anyone is wondering, it is Blossomforth who gets Comet Streak back on track to the bar.

This is also the last time that I intend the character of Tael to appear (except possibly in late main arc 3) in this particular story. She will be moving over to her own thing in what will become of the story The Coping of a Former Human. That story will eventually give an explanation about the dragon with her.

There is also a point to note with this chapter, every character is slipping to some degree into the comfort of life in Ponyville. In Comet Streak’s case, he is actually using German less. Mostly when startled by something. They are somewhat losing themselves as this becomes their lives. Will that change? Wait and see…

Comments

[Gargon94]

Yay, update!

[MosAnted]

10697398

Afaik, it only refers to the catlike inhabitants of Abyssinia, like Caper in the movie.

[Feynna]

Geil – In this case it is more used as “good looking” but has a mixed meaning which also applies to Comet Streak in this case. Have fun with that.

You know, I was about to dismiss this since you could actually use that word when talking about something that looks good, but then I thought better and looked at the context in which it is used. Germans love to use words, a lot. Using single-word exclamations like this doesn't work in the way you think it does. In this particular case, it would be the equivalent of saying awesome and not 'she looks good'. And I certainly do not hope you are insinuating what you are insinuating there, because 'geil' hasn't been used like that in the past decades or so. At all. Certainly not as a single-word expression. If I'm correct and you really do mean what I think you mean, you would have to use 'sie macht mich so geil'. Have fun with that.