Act I: Dewdrop Dazzle
Whinnyapolis: sixteen years, zero months, and thirty days ago
According to Mommy, the first snowfall of the year was always a big deal in Whinnyapolis. She’d bundled me up in a heavy winter coat, boots, and a scarf Nana had crocheted for my birthday. I rode on her back to the big hill outside town.
I stood at the base of the hill watching ponies skiing and sledding. That looks like fun! But Mommy hadn’t brought a sled with us, so all I could do was watch. Maybe I can build a snowmare with some of the other fillies.
I heard a whooshing sound and looked up – a sled was heading right for me. I squeezed my eyes shut and flattened to the ground in anticipation of the crash. Soon I was airborne, wondering why getting hit by a speeding sled didn’t hurt.
I cautiously opened my eyes and saw the filly on the sled was levitating me. The sled gradually lost momentum and we slid to a stop. I looked down at the filly who was levitating me – she was about my age and already strong enough to levitate somepony her own size. That’s impressive! My own horn barely sparked whenever I tried to do magic. Even though we’d come to a stop the other unicorn was still floating me in her magic. “Are you gonna put me down, now? Please?”
“Huh?”
“Put me down!”
“I don’t know how!”
She looked left, and I turned with her. Then she looked right and I went with her again. She looked up and I went higher. Not helping. Then she looked down and I crashed into the powdery snow. I poked my head up and saw her bounding towards me.
She apologized as she helped me out of the snow. “I’m sorry! I don’t know how I did that! I’ve never lifted anything before!” She held up a hoof to bump. “I’m Snowcatcher, but you can call me Snowy.”
“Dewdrop Dazzle.” I shook myself out as best I could. “But you can call me Dewey.”
“Nice to meet you!” She curtseyed, and I tried to do the same but slipped, falling muzzle first into the same snowbank I’d just been pulled out of. She bit onto my tail and tugged me out for the second time. “Wanna come sledding with me?” she asked.
“Sure!” She’s lucky she has a sled!
I helped her pull the sled up the hill and she showed me the proper way to ride on the sled so I wouldn’t fall off. Since I was behind her, I kicked off and down the hill we sped. It was fun, and we zipped down the hill. Everything was going good until the trees appeared in front of us. I told Snowy to steer left, but she didn’t know how. We both leaned to that side and fell off the sled entirely. Snowy skidded to a stop and I tumbled into her. I had no idea where her sled got to.
I stood up, dusting snow off my coat yet again. Snowy checked to see if I was okay, retrieved the sled, and invited me to go again. I didn’t even hesitate. I wanted to keep sledding and between the two of us we’d figure out how to steer it eventually.
“Besties?” she asked.
“Besties,” I replied, tugging on the sleigh to drag it back up the hill.
Whinnyapolis: thirteen years, eleven months, and twenty-six days ago
I sat in the waiting room, tapping my hoof restlessly. The place reminded me of my doctor’s office and I wanted to turn tail and bolt out of there. But Daddy was in there talking to some unicorn stallion. Mommy was reading some fashion magazine that had been on the coffee table when we came in.
“Dewdrop?”
I looked up – the stallion my father had been talking to was motioning for me to join them in the office. Mommy ushered me inside.
“Good afternoon, Dewdrop. My name is Yapple Dapple, and I’m going to show you how to use your magic. Why don’t you show me what can you do?”
“Not much.” My horn sparked as I tried to coalesce magic into it.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Anything!” I reared and threw my front hooves up in frustration.
“Magic needs to be focused, Dewdrop. We’ll start with the basics. Illuminate is one of the easiest spells.” Yapple turned out the light. “Now that it’s dark, we can see the results of our spell better.” His horn brightened the room for a few seconds with a yellowish-green glow. “Now you try.”
I closed my eyes and focused on my horn. Illuminate. Light. Glow you stupid horn! My horn emitted a few mint-colored sparks, but that was it. The same as always.
Yapple nodded. “You may be trying too hard. It’s dark in here. I want you to close your eyes and picture the sun in your mind. A millennium ago unicorns raised the sun every day. That connection is still there; the sun is in your blood.”
I looked at a scabbed over wound from when I’d taken a shortcut through some brambles. I didn’t recall seeing it emitting light when it was bleeding. Yapple Dapple saw me looking at my leg and explained that that was a figure of speech. The important part was that my tribe had moved the sun more than a thousand years ago and unicorns still had a sympathetic connection there.
“Think of it this way – the sun is inside you and wants to get out. Let the sun out and light this room, Dewdrop.”
I pushed my left legs and right legs apart, bracing myself as I clenched my eyes shut. I poured all my concentration into my horn, ignoring everything else around me. I pictured the sun, I pictured light. “Illuminate!”
My horn sparked but the room didn’t get any lighter.
“It’s okay, Dewdrop, this is your first lesson, after all. It’ll come to you. One day you’ll be able to do things like this.” He grabbed a few items from around the room and levitated them around his head in a spinning circle. “Yapple Dapple!” His field flickered and the items he was levitating all crashed to the ground and he shrugged. “I guess I yappled instead of dappled.”
I couldn’t help but laugh as he picked everything up. “Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Even adults fail sometimes. It’s okay to mess up. Just remember that nopony’s perfect. Not me, not your parents, and not your teachers. Even Princess Celestia makes mistakes. What’s important is that you learn from them.”
“So what did you learn from that mistake?”
“I learned that you have a cute smile. You should smile more often and stop stressing about what you can’t do right now. You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Let me worry about teaching you magic – guaranteed or your parents’ money back!”
“Why did everything drop when you said your name?”
“My special talent involves canceling all magic around me, and I activate that by saying my name.”
“Canceling magic?”
He nodded. “Mr. Dazzle, could you lift this in your field, please?” My father levitated a rubber duck. “Yapple Dapple.” As soon as he spoke the words, the duck fell to the ground with a squeak as my father’s magical field sputtered out.
“It comes in really handy when a student has a magical surge. That’s why it activates when I say my name – just in case I’m incapacitated.”
“Does that happen often?”
“Once every month or two.” He moved a potted plant, revealing scorch marks on the wall. “I haven’t gotten around to repainting yet.” He lifted a painting off the wall; there was a hole underneath. “It also forces me to redecorate periodically, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Come to think of it, that window in the corner wasn’t always there. That colt’s surge actually caused structural damage. Last I checked he was an apprentice mage in Tackoma. It’s been a while; he might be a mage by now.”
“And you taught him magic?” I gasped.
“I helped to, anyway.”
“Wow!” With Yapple teaching me, I could be a mage someday!
Whinnyapolis: twelve years, ten months, and seven days ago
Yapple Dapple was waiting for us at the door of his office, and instead of ushering us inside, he locked his door and flipped his sign around to ‘closed’. He motioned for us to follow him, and he led the way to an ice cream parlor a few blocks away.
It was a blustery winter day, but ponies unable to eat ice cream on the coldest day of the year rarely stayed in Whinnyapolis for long. The cold didn’t bother any of us. Though that didn’t stop me from ordering a hot chocolate to go with my blueberry ice cream cone.
“Dewdrop, you’ve been receiving lessons from me for a little over a year, and in that time I’ve seen no progress at all.”
My ears flattened in shame.
“That’s not your fault.” He levitated some papers over to my parents. “It’s my teaching that’s deficient. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, Dewdrop’s test results are in. She doesn’t have a magical deficiency. Quite the opposite, in fact. She seems to have an impressive mana reserve.”
I didn’t know what all that meant, but the relief on my parents’ faces was contagious, so I smiled too. Though it made me curious. “What’s the bad news?”
“I’m completely out of ideas on how to unlock your potential.” He levitated a bag of bits onto the table. “In two decades of teaching magic, this is only the second time I’ve had to offer a refund. You’re capable of greatness, Dewey, but I’m not the one who’s going to help you achieve it. I’m sorry.” He gave my parents a stack of business cards. “These are some of my peers. I’ve discussed your case with all of them, and each of these ponies is willing to take you on as a student at no cost. Maybe one of them can explain things in a way I can’t. Once again, I’m sorry I failed you, Dewdrop.”
I ate my ice cream in silence as Yapple Dapple left to return to his office. I can do magic. But nopony knows how.
Whinnyapolis: eleven years, nine months, and eighteen days ago
Much to my delight, spring had come early to the upper plains of northern Equestria. The snow had melted quickly, leaving lots of puddles behind. I was thrilled, being one of the rare ponies that likes wet and rainy days, taking to puddles like a duck to water.
I was in my element, while my bestest friend in the whole world, Snowy, was in mourning. Winter had passed, and she was struggling to hold onto it despite the ever increasing temperatures. Snowy’s a silly pony sometimes. There she was, trying to make a snowpony out of the rapidly melting slush, while I happily splashed through the meltwater the snow was leaving behind.
Snowy and I were a lot alike. So much so, I’d taken to calling her my sister from another mister. We were born less than three months apart. We were both half-breeds, each of us having one pegasus parent and one unicorn parent. We were both named in line with pegasus traditions despite being unicorns. And we both really liked playing in the rain and snow.
There were some differences between us, of course. Our coloration was similar, but my coat was more on the greenish side of blue-green while Snowy’s was firmly on the blue side. She was better at magic – Snowy was well ahead of other unicorns our age, while I couldn’t get my horn to do anything more than spark uselessly. And, perhaps the biggest difference of all, my flank was still blank and she got her cutie mark playing in the snow a few months ago.
You’d think getting a cutie mark would make her happy, but she’d been pretty bummed out since not long after she got it. Our teacher thought for sure she was going to be an archmage someday, but now everypony just dismissed her as a wannabe. It hated seeing that. She’s still the same awesome filly she’s always been, what does it matter if her cutie mark is of a snowflake instead of a shooting star?
Seeing the reactions of all the adults around us is why I wasn’t jealous that my friend got her cutie mark before me. Part of me was jealous, but at the same time I was worried my own mark would be as much of a disappointment to everypony as hers. With similar interests it was likely mine would be similar to hers. If I had to guess what mine’s gonna be, I’d pick waterproof boots for jumping through puddles.
Thankfully, expectations weren’t as high for me as they were for her. Being so far behind the rest of the unicorns my age, nopony was planning my future for me. Well, except my parents. Mom wants me to work on the weather team like she does, while Dad’s hoping I’m a late bloomer and that my magic will get stronger eventually. But that’s all for future Dewey to worry about. Right now there’s puddles that need splashing in!
Whinnyapolis: eleven years, nine months, and zero days ago
The snow was finally gone, and so were the puddles. I’d been begging Mom to make it rain for two days, but she said the water levels were already too high. It was warmer than it had been a few weeks ago, but it was still too cold to go down to the lake and go swimming. Snowy and I wandered the streets of town, dejectedly.
“Wanna go to the arcade?”
“Nah.” That was a lie, but my allowance had been withheld this week because I tracked mud into the house. Again.
“We could catch a movie? Or go for ice cream.”
I had to give Snowy credit; she was at least trying to have a good time despite the sunny weather. We just needed to think up something that didn’t cost any bits. “Let’s go to the playground.” Snowy nodded at my suggestion and followed my lead.
We took turns going down the slides and pushing each other on the swings, then we spun on the carousel for a bit. Eventually we just started playing tag, dashing up and down the seesaws and weaving in and out of the rest of the playground’s equipment.
I stopped mid-gallop when I heard the quacking of a duckling. That was mistake number one. Snowcatcher was it, and she was hot on my hooves at the time I came to a halt. She couldn’t slow down in time, and instead slammed into me, flattening me to the ground while simultaneously catapulting over me. She landed in a heap a few yards away, but quickly bounced to her hooves. “That totally counts as a tag! You’re it!”
I stood up and shook the cobwebs off. I’d taken the brunt of the impact, cushioning her fall, yet I didn’t appear all the worse for wear. “You win.” I conceded defeat and turned my attention towards the quacking I’d heard. I poked my snout into the bushes and found a few mallard ducklings sitting around a dried up puddle.
“Poor little duckies.” Snowy had squeezed in next to me.
I sat there looking from the ducks to the sky and back. If the weather team wouldn’t give them rain, I’d just have to do it myself. Horn sparking, I stood up and aimed it straight up into the sky.
“Dewey? What are you doing?”
I poured everything I had into a stream of raw magic with one basic request: rain. The clouds above turned from white and fluffy to dark and stormy. A minute later it wasn’t raining so much as it was pouring. I guess I’d overdone it. There was a flash of lightning behind me and I yelled to Snowy that we should head for cover.
“That wasn’t lightning! You got your cutie mark!”
I whipped my head around and much to my surprise I saw an umbrella sheltering a pair of hearts. That was way better than the galoshes I’d been expecting! “Woo-hoo!” I dashed through the rain, splashing in all the puddles along the way, Snowy struggling to keep up.
Whinnyapolis: eleven years, seven months, and twenty-nine days ago
Snowy and I stood next to the largest lake in the area. It was getting warmer, but it was still too cold to go swimming. Not that that was why we were there.
“Come on, Dewey.”
“What do you expect me to do, Snowy?”
“I don’t know, exactly. But I have a theory. Or hypothesis, rather.”
“Enlighten me. Because Sun and Moon know my horn certainly won’t.”
“Your magic seems to be tied to water somehow. The exploding fountain at school, the rainstorm you summoned when you got your cutie mark… There’s a pattern here, I’m just not sure what it is. So we’re going to experiment a bit.”
I groaned. “Snowy, please give up. I already have, my magic tutor refunded my parents because he couldn’t teach me, and none of the others he recommended were able to either.”
“He doesn’t know you like I do.” She picked up a pebble and threw it at me.
“Hey!” I dodged it. “What are you doing?”
“Come on, block it.” She tossed another pebble at me, but I sidestepped it again.
“I don’t know how!” My pleas for her to stop went unheeded as she continued picking up pebbles. Nothing big enough to hurt me, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be pelted with tiny rocks.
“You wanted the bullies to stop picking on me, and the fountain exploded. You wanted it to rain for the ducks, and it did. I wanted you to get out of the way when I was sledding all those years ago and somehow I lifted you. I don’t think you need to ‘know how’ to make something happen so much as you need to really want something to happen.”
“I really want my horn to light up but it still won’t.” A pebble hit me while I was distracted. “Ow!”
“Come on, Dewey. I know you can do it. You really want to block the rocks.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t think of anything else to trigger this.”
If she couldn’t think of anything else, I did the only thing I could do – I galloped away as she continued hurling rocks at me. She picked up pebbles from in front of me, forcing me to change direction. I looked behind me and saw more stones headed my way. Before I knew it I’d reached the shore of the lake and had nowhere left to go but into the water.
I plunged in, wading out a few yards from shore so only my head was above the water. It was colder than I would’ve liked, but it was better than having rocks hit me.
Except pebbles kept raining down on me from the beach. I started splashing her, hoping that somehow cold water would be enough to deter a mare who was most comfortable in snow. That had about as much hope of succeeding as me lighting my horn.
I kept splashing her harder and harder and eventually she screamed in terror. I looked up, and a wave had her pinned to the sandy beach. It was just floating there, from the lake to Snowcatcher. I could feel a connection to the water. It would do anything I wanted, and right now it was holding Snowy as still as could be.
“That worked, Dewey. You can let me go now. Please?”
“I dunno. You’ve been throwing rocks at me. I feel like that’s pretty awful behavior for a friend to exhibit.”
“Hey! They were tiny pebbles and I proved the hypothesis! You can do magic! The ends justify the means, right?”
“Nope.” I pulled the wave back, flinging Snowcatcher into the frigid lake. She may have very strong magic, but she really needs to work on her pony skills. Much as she’d picked tiny pebbles so as not to hurt me, I knew a dip in the snowmelt-laden lake wouldn’t hurt her. Snow and cold didn’t bother her, and I was quickly determining that water didn’t bother me, either. Not even cold water.
Snowy surfaced, spitting out water. “Yeah, I deserved that.” Then she splashed me. “Now that you know how, show me what you can do.”
“Careful what you wish for, Snowy.” I grinned and Snowy disappeared beneath the surface. I created an air bubble around her head, then kept her beneath the waves, completely at my mercy until her air supply started running out. I brought her to the surface and she gasped, inhaling fresh air. “Impressed?”
“Yes.” She swam to shore and shook herself dry.
It was a pity I wasn’t done with her yet. I grasped her tail with the water, and the liquid water felt solid to me as I yanked my friend back into the water.
“Hey!”
“Doesn’t my bestie want to play in the water with me?”
“Will my bestie forgive me if I do?”
“You know it!” I hugged her, letting her know that I wouldn’t hold it against her. Besides, now I can do magic. She succeeded where even the professionals failed. But her methods need some work…
Canterlot: eleven years, six months, and ten days ago
It was crowded in the auditorium of Princess Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns. Most of the other prospective students were nervous, but I wasn’t. I knew I had no hope of passing the tests, regardless of whatever shenanigans Snowy was planning on cooking up. I knew I didn’t belong there, so there was no reason to be nervous.
Snowy, on the other hoof… I looked over at my best friend, who was practically bursting with nervous energy, not that she had anything to worry about. She’s got this. Princess Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns would be foolish not to accept her. I only came here to support Snowy. They’ll dismiss me as unworthy and I’ll go back to Whinnyapolis while she stays here in Canterlot. I’ll miss her, of course. She’s my best friend. She’s my only friend…
One by one they pulled us inside a room to impress our evaluators. Snowy emerged from the room and I knew it was my turn. She held the door for me, and I entered the room of doom. Four ponies sat behind desks with clipboards in their magical auras. I gasped when I saw one of them was Princess Celestia herself. I hastily bowed, but she told me to rise to my hooves.
The first test was simple by unicorn standards. Simple for any unicorn other than me, anyway. All I needed to do was light my horn. The simplest of all unicorn magic, yet it was something I’d never managed to accomplish. I gulped. Princess Celestia was sitting right there in front of me, next to three gifted mages, and I couldn’t even make a spark of magic to impress them with. Two words came to my mind: epic fail.
Much to my surprise my horn lit up in a brilliant ball of light. It was then I saw Snowy hiding under one of the desks in the very back of the room. Snowy, you’re the best friend a filly could ask for. But they’re going to figure out that I cheated my way in when I fail every test I take. I just hope they don’t kick you out too.
I scrunched my face up in concentration and a faint orchid glow filled my vision – Snowy’s magical aura. The objects in front of me levitated, dancing through the air as the observers scribbled notes on their clipboards.
The rest of the tests were no problem for Snowy, though they would’ve been too much for me. Eventually we were done, and Princess Celestia looked at the clock. “I think this is a good place to stop for lunch. We’ll pick up with the next in line in an hour.”
The other three reviewers left the room and I started to follow them but found myself restrained by a golden aura. “I’m sure you’re anxious to eat, Dewdrop, but I’d like to talk with you first. And you too, Snowcatcher.”
Busted. So very busted. That didn’t take long at all. Snowy emerged from her hiding spot and stood next to me as we awaited judgement. “Did you fillies know that every unicorn’s magic has its own distinctive signature? Or did you just think we wouldn’t notice Snowcatcher took the entrance exam twice?”
“I don’t belong here.”
Snowy nuzzled me. “Yes, you do.”
“I can’t even light my own horn.” I closed my eyes and focused as hard as possible on my horn. It sparked with a few hints of mint green magic and gave off a faint glow. “That’s the best I can do. I can’t levitate anything at all.”
Snowy sighed. “She sells herself short. Do you have a lake near here?” The princess quirked an eyebrow but nodded. “Can you take us there, please?”
“An odd request, but I requested an explanation and you’ve piqued my curiosity. Consider it done.” With a brilliant flash we were standing on the shore of an alpine lake higher up the mountain. I could see the town of Canterlot below us, the castle standing prominently over it.
“Whoa. Can you teach me that? Please?”
Celestia smiled at Snowy. “We’ll see, my little pony. That’ll depend on Dewdrop proving she belongs in my school. Because if she doesn’t, I’m not accepting your application either.”
Snowy shrugged. “She will. If she’s not allowed in, I don’t want to go here anyway.”
“You can’t throw your future away like that.”
“I’m not. I have faith in you.” She patted my withers.
“No pressure.”
Snowy shrugged again. “No pressure. Whatever happens, happens. We’ll still be friends no matter what, and that’s the most important part.”
I sighed and stepped up to the edge of the lake. “What should I do?”
“Just be yourself, Dewey.”
I jumped into the lake. Even the summertime sun couldn’t take the chill out of the frigid water. In hindsight, I probably should’ve waded in slowly. Magic air bubble time. I spent the next twenty minutes exploring the bottom of the lake, not that there was anything of any interest. We were high up on a mountain, so there were no shipwrecks or even fish. There was nothing in the lake except crystal clear water. I could easily see Snowy and the princess on the shore, so I waved to them.
My bubble’s air supply ran out after twenty minutes, so I returned to the surface. “Thank you, princess. This lake is perfect.” I turned around to face the depths from which I’d just emerged and my horn ignited. My magic impacted the surface and suddenly the tranquil lake turned turbulent. Waves crashed along the shoreline and I fired a blast of magic into the sky as well. Soon it started pouring. “Because there are no fish in this lake, I don’t feel the least built guilty for what I’m about to do.” Two more blasts erupted from my horn, one towards the lake and one towards the clouds. The lake froze solid, waves and all, while the rain turned into snow.
“Thank you, Dewdrop, for that wonderful demonstration of your talents. Would you mind returning the lake back to normal now?”
I nodded at the princess’ request, returning the lake to its tranquil, liquid state.
“I haven’t seen a water elemental in centuries.”
“Did she pass her entrance exam?”
Princess Celestia nodded. “You were right, my little pony, she belongs here too. And our tests never would have discovered that.” She turned to me. “More importantly, Dewdrop, we have ways to teach you to harness your power over water to substitute for the basics. For example, there’s water vapor in the air around you, and you can use that in place of levitation. When you consider that water covers approximately 70% of the planet’s surface, then factor in that everypony requires water to survive, and then throw in the fact that water comprises about 60% of our bodies, having power over water is a truly amazing gift.”
Snowy pouncehugged me and the princess giggled. “I suppose this means the two of you would like to be roommates?” We both nodded. “I’ll make sure the arrangements are made. There’s just one last thing. There’s still the little matter of the fact that the two of you were cheating. You could’ve just come right out and stated you were a water elemental instead of going to all that effort. We could’ve adjusted things accordingly. I think a suitable punishment is hoofing it back to the school.” She vanished with a pop, leaving the two of us standing there, gawking at the place she’d just been standing.
“I’m totally learning how to do that.”
“I wish you already knew.”
“Me too, Dewey, me too. Hey, you know, she didn’t say we had to go back immediately. Think this is one of those mountains that has snow year ‘round?”
“Only one way to find out.” I grinned.
“Race you to the top!”
“You’re on!”
Canterlot: eleven years, three months, and one day ago
I sat in the front row of Majesty's classroom, next to Snowy. She was furiously scribbling notes with her magic. Notes that I'd have to borrow once we were back in our dormroom since I couldn't mouthwrite as fast as our teacher could talk.
The classroom grew brighter as Princess Celestia entered. “Dewdrop Dazzle.”
I quickly bowed to the princess, and she excused me from class. I followed her downstairs into the school's basement.
“Dewdrop, I’ve seen you struggling here, despite having the best teachers Equestria has to offer, and even a friend like Snowcatcher who’s so willing to help. That’s understandable considering how rare your talents are, but it’s completely unacceptable for my school not to accommodate every student who goes here. So I’ve decided to try something a little unorthodox. This isn’t a decision I made lightly, but I feel it’s in your best interests and I’m willing to take a chance if it means you succeed. From now on you’ll be getting one on one instructions.”
A pair of royal guards entered, with a very reluctant stallion between them. He had the look of a colt who’d been forced to play dress up when all he wanted to do was roll around in the dirt.
“This is Seven Seas. You may remember I mentioned that we haven’t had a water mage in hundreds of years. Seven Seas was the last one. Fortunately, I was able to revive him from a prolonged stay in the statuary.”
“Yarrr.” Princess Celestia glared at him. “I mean… I be Seven Seas. Pleased to meet ye, lass. I’ll be teachin’ ye to use your powers.”
“Seven Seas was a rather notorious pirate in his day and was sentenced to the statue garden for his crimes. He’ll be instructing you in your magic… under supervision, of course. In exchange, the Crown is offering him a full pardon if he cooperates.”
“Hang yer pardon. Everypony I gave a whale’s blowhole about has been dead ‘n’ buried for centuries. I’m only doin’ this because I know what it’s like to struggle mightily with even the simplest tasks. Grabbin’ things with my mouth like a common mudpony ‘til I figured out me powers. But I showed ‘em all in the end.”
“Ahem.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m not s’posed to be braggin’ ‘bout that. Or calling other tribes derogatory slurs. I have a lot of ‘adjusting’ to do to modern society. Or so they be tellin’ me.”
“Despite being rough around the edges, by choosing to show you how to harness your powers in a way that will help you in daily life, Seven Seas has shown that underneath his gruff exterior is a pony who cares. You’ll, of course, have other teachers for the rest of your subjects. I’ll see to it that your schedule matches Snowcatcher’s as much as possible. Also, for obvious reasons, Seven Seas won’t be going anywhere without his guard detail or a magic inhibitor.”
“I’m sayin’ this for your benefit, Princess. I’ll play by your rules for me parole. Ain’t got no reason not to. No ship, no crew. All I got to me name is this piece of onyx jewelry that makes me an earth pony with a decorative horn. Can’t even pawn the cursed thing.” He sighed. “So let’s be getting started, shall we? Ye probably think ye’ve been cursed, and in a way ye have. Ye’ve also been blessed, filly.”
I looked up at the pirate, while Celestia watched both of us with what looked to be a hint of amusement in her eyes.
“Ponies is made up of mostly water. Close ye eyes. My guards and I will be moving ever so quietly to another spot in the basement. Use your senses and see if’n ye can be tellin’ where we are.”
I’d never even considered that I could ‘feel’ the ponies around me, but once I took notice of it I couldn’t not sense it. “You’re by the furnace. That’s… that’s way cool. And Princess Celestia is…” I opened my eyes. The source of water I’d sensed by the windows had disappeared when I’d said her name. “…Apparently teleporting away.”
“Nopony ever got the drop on me ‘ceptin’ when I was sleeping.” He chuckled. “Yarr, lass, now I want ye to be findin’ the closest source of water.”
I closed my eyes and flattened my ears, letting my other senses overwhelm me. Unsurprisingly the bathroom was the nearest large source of water. But I could also sense moisture in the air around me and the pipes running through the building.
“Yarr, by that smile on yer lips I be thinking the pieces are fittin’ together right nicely inside yer head. I wish I’d’ve known that trick meself when I was a wee lad yer age. These are the tools ye’ve been given, and I’ll teach ye how to make the best of them.”
I can’t wait to see Snowy’s face when I tell her I have an honest to goodness pirate as my teacher. Heh, he’s a pirate, so that’s probably more accurately ‘dishonest to goodness’.
Canterlot: nine years, four months, and sixteen days ago
I relaxed on the shore of what I’d come to think of as ‘our’ alpine lake. Snowy and I were the only ones who ever came here, and it was the perfect place to come to get away from it all.
Unsurprisingly, Snowy had excelled at the courses offered at the school, while I’d struggled. Part of me wanted to drop out and continue at the normal school back home, but the rest of me wanted to learn how to truly harness my powers so I could at least do most of the things other unicorns could do. There was no place else on Equus where I could learn this. And I didn’t want to leave Snowy behind. She was the whole reason I’d taken such a crazy chance in the first place.
There was a small rock next to the lake. Levitating it would be a breeze for any other unicorn, but my magic fizzled as I tried to grasp it. I’d have to use the water molecules to do the lifting for me. It was easier to practice by the lake since it was a large source of water. Pulling water from the lake and levitating it around and under the rock was no problem, nor was it an issue to lift the water with the rock coming along for the ride.
It was much more difficult when I tried to pull the water vapor from the air. There was no lake in the classroom, so in order to get a passing grade, I needed to be able to levitate things by manipulating the water molecules around the object in question. I closed my eyes and reached toward the rock with my magic. Once I found the rock, I turned my attention to the air around it. When I focused, I could sense the water vapor. Then I moved the molecules where I wanted them, and up. I opened my eyes. The rock was levitating. Barely, but it was off the ground. I concentrated and lifted it higher as I watched it levitate in front of me. Success! I’d never be as good at levitation as other unicorns, but at least I could do it… at the expense of great personal effort on my part. I let the rock collapse back to the ground. It was a good thing I was used to grasping things the earth pony way, because I wouldn’t be using this spell with any frequency.
Lighting my horn up was an effort in futility. There were no spells that offered a way to convert water to light. I could freeze water vapor and use the resulting ice crystals to reflect light, but that was useless in a pitch black room. Even Seven Seas had offered no suggestions, and instead offered a note to excuse me from taking the test. Sadly, that wouldn’t help me much in the real world when situations arose where I needed light and couldn’t produce any.
It would forever be my gift and curse alike to always be ‘that freak that uses water to do everything’ to the rest of my peers. I sighed. If only they knew just how difficult it was for me to do the things they take for granted.
I looked at the peaceful lake. Gentle waves lapped at the shore in the gentle breeze. I could do anything with this water. My horn sparked with my mint green aura and the water in the lake shot up into the air. I shaped it into a duck then froze it, creating an instant ice sculpture. That was well beyond the abilities of most unicorns. I melted the ice sculpture, restoring the lake to normal.
My powers were incredible, but what good were they from a practical sense? I could control weather, sure, but so could a full third of the population. Mom had made it abundantly clear that there was a weather team job waiting for me back home. Ever since my magic manifested, Mom had been urging me to join the team someday. It was my fallback plan – if everything else failed, at least I had something waiting.
I wouldn’t mind exploring the oceans, but only twenty minutes of air at any given time would never be sufficient. I could probably map the bottoms of lakes and rivers, though having the ability to make light would help exponentially with that.
I looked at the position of the sun – Snowcatcher’s class was just about be over. I trotted back down the mountain. With luck I can make it back to our dorm room before Snowy gets back.
Canterlot: eight years, seven months, and six days ago
Seven Seas always had the same guards. Day in and day out they stood there, always watching. Seven Seas was quite friendly with them, often outright flirtatious. Which was probably another reason why Princess Celestia had trusted him to be my instructor – he had no interest in my booty. Though I found it very interesting that she hadn’t selected mares to guard him.
To their credit, the guards stood there as stoically as was ponily possible under the circumstances. Not that Seven Seas made it easy when he did things like flopping onto their backs during one of his many impromptu song and dance numbers. He didn’t take life all that seriously, which could probably be explained by his having cheated death for centuries.
Today though, Seven Seas seemed subdued. It was the first time I’d seen him sad and a frown on his face was as out of place as snow on a tropical beach. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve reached the end of what I can teach ye, lass. You know every trick I learned to harness me powers. From here on out, I’ll be countin’ on you to be teachin’ me. This institution of higher learnin’ is dedicating resources to discovering ways to teach you how to do even more. I’m not a teacher, and I’ve never been much of a researcher. I adapted to me lot in life as best I could, but there are things I just never learned how to do. This will be our last lesson, as I just joined the Royal Guard this mornin’.”
My face fell – he was crazy, but I thoroughly enjoyed his tutoring. Nopony could relate to me like he could.
“I spent a great deal of my life runnin’ from the guards, and fightin’ with them. But if’n I never teach you nothin’ else, remember this: if you can’t beat an enemy consider joining up.” That led to a song cue about ants and picnics and eventually conceding defeat and colluding.
“I’m very confused right now, Mr. Seas.”
“Yarr, I told ye not to be callin’ me that. But I suppose you’re bein’ entitled to an explanation. I’m just not adapting to modern society the way I’d like. I was a pirate, ain’t ashamed t’ say I plundered with the best of them. But I only ever stole from the Crown and the nobility. Today’s pirates don’t sail the ocean looking for ships filled with treasure, they swindle it legally from widows and foals. They’re real estate speculators there with a lowball offer on an inherited property for immediate cash, not even waiting for a pony to properly mourn their loss. Insurance adjusters who promise to take care of you in your time of need, only to take advantage of you when you’re at your most vulnerable. Talent agents that offer fillies or colts a chance for success… for a price. Vultures, all of ‘em. I’d like to introduce ‘em to the pointy end of me cutlass. If’n I still had a cutlass.”
He struck the pose that he always did – head held high, looking slightly to the right. His left front leg was lifted slightly, like he was about to take a step forward, but he never did. A pose that I vividly remembered a statue in the garden holding when I’d first arrived at school. A statue that had conveniently disappeared not long after that.
“Or those folks with the Bits 4 Valuables kiosk. Yarr, if I’d known ponies would just sell me their treasure for ridiculously low prices I wouldn’t have wasted years of me life plunderin’ it.”
I hated to interrupt his rant, but I had to ask the question. “Why the Guards?”
“It’s the only place I can really be myself. They’ll let me have me cutlass back. And I can finally be riddin’ meself of this cursed horn ring. But mostly because I’ll be in the Royal Navy. Out at sea with dozens of strapping young hunks on board the HMS Sunburn.
I rolled my eyes. I give him a week before he’s a statue again.
Canterlot: seven years, four months, and twelve days ago (takes place in the aftermath of Season 9, episode 17: The Summer Sun Setback)
Trotting around Canterlot it was hard to believe that thousands of years had passed since the first Hearth’s Warming and the Fire of Friendship that united the three pony tribes and staved off the windigos. Tensions between the tribes were at an all time high, and no place was that worse than Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. A school specifically for unicorns run by an alicorn in a unicorn-majority city. It was the perfect breeding ground for unicorn supremacists.
At first glance, that shouldn’t have been a problem. At least not for Snowy or myself. We both had horns, after all. The asterisk to that was our heritage, with neither of us being full-blooded unicorns. It had never been an issue previously, but unicorns had nothing good to say about pegasi or earth ponies, and while earth ponies and pegasi also grumbled about the other tribes, they were minorities in Equestria’s capital city. Many of them migrated, with pegasi fleeing to Cloudsdale and earth ponies moving to surrounding farm towns like Ponyville. With fewer targets to direct rage at, ‘tribal impurity’ from mixed parentage became the latest outcry, and Snowy and I soon found ourselves ostracized.
The school grounds were mostly safe, but that didn’t help us when we were off campus. We’d opted to see a movie, and we lingered at the ice cream shop afterwards a little longer than anticipated. It was well past dark as we trekked back to our dorm.
A gang of four of our classmates materialized out of an alley and stopped us. “Well, well, well, look what we have here, boys.”
“Looks like a couple of cute young fillies.”
“Looks like a couple pegasus wannabes. Check out their flanks. We’ve got a special little snowflake and a dumb umbrella.”
“A dumbrella!”
“My Mom’s a weather pegasus, dumbflank.”
“Half-blood.”
Snowcatcher’s response was instantaneous, “My father’s a pegasus.”
“Two weak little half-bloods wandering the streets at night. You might want to consider paying the toll for safe passage back to school.”
Snowy readied a teleport spell but it fizzled out.
“Oh yeah, we know you can teleport. I developed a blocking spell. Can’t have you leaving this party before it starts.”
Ever since that day Princess Celestia winked us to the lake high up the mountain, Snowy had become extremely proficient with teleportation. It wasn’t exactly a secret, and it was the last piece of proof we needed to know we’d been specifically singled out.
We could try running, but they were older, more athletic, and they also had the benefit of longer legs. We could attempt fleeing, but it would be a short race with dire consequences for the losers. We could attempt to make a ruckus to attract the attention of the Royal Guards, but then it would be a he said-she said situation. Even if we had somehow managed to get away, we would never hear the end of it.
Instead we stood up for ourselves.
Four unicorn stallions, all of them older than us, and all of them students at the same gifted school as us. This wasn’t going to be a fair fight. We’d just have to even the odds.
Seven Seas’ training kicked in and I reached out, looking for sources I could draw power from. “Aim down, full blast.”
Snowcatcher nodded and blasted a hole deep through the cobblestones, rupturing the water main I’d sensed below us. The street flooded as we squared off against the older stallions. I wasted no time blasting one of the stallions full force with the water, then flash froze him. One down, three to go.
And then the street disappeared and we were falling. “Snowy?!?”
“Right here, Dewey. I teleported us all a mile straight up.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I figured it might give us a chance to talk things out. But it seems our company is too interested in screaming in terror to do any conversing.”
“I don’t blame them! You’re crazy, you know that?”
“I know. Anyways, thanks for blasting the one with the teleport blocker.”
“If I’d known you were going to do this, I might not have! You know more spells than anypony I know; couldn’t you have used something other than teleportation?!?”
“I have half a dozen spells going through my mind right now. But I don’t know if I could make any of them work without hurting anypony. I don’t care if it could be considered self-defense, I’d never forgive myself if I injured somepony. If we can’t talk things out with them, at least this buys us a few minutes to think up a better strategy.”
“Unless we splatter! How about you teleport them to a jail cell, and us back to our dorm?”
“Remind me to start teleporting us to and from locations around town from now on. Speaking of…” We winked again, once more coming out a mile above Canterlot. She turned her attention to the three stallions who could still speak. “So do you boys want to talk about why we find ourselves plummeting towards our deaths?”
“You’re crazy!”
She nodded. “Yes, but we’ve already established that. I’m not the one who started this fight. So why don’t you tell me why we’re all in this predicament right now?”
“Because you’re inferior to us!”
“Oh? Doesn’t look that way from where I’m falling. I can save us any time I want, yet none of you seem to have any spells at your disposal to get out of this situation. I can keep doing this all night, but if you’d prefer I can always find another spell to use instead.” She levitated a spell book out of her saddlebags and casually flipped it open as we fell. “Nope, nope, nope, definitely not. Wow, who came up with that one? Oh! This could work: Barker’s Gelding Spell. Would you prefer that one instead?”
Their eyes just about bugged out of their heads and I struggled not to burst out laughing at Snowy’s perfect deadpan delivery of that. She has to be making that one up. It was then that I looked down. “Uh, Snowy? Ground!”
“Hmn? Oh! Silly me, I almost forgot about that.” We teleported yet again and continued our descent. “Now where were we? Right, I think you three were about to promise that we’re all equals and that you’ll never call us half-bloods ever again. Preferably before I start getting tired since it takes about a dozen more teleports to bleed off speed.”
Three stallions swore to Celestia they’d never bother us again, and true to her word, Snowy teleported us again. Except this time, we came out sideways. That was immediately followed by another teleport. We continued coming out sideways or even upside-down as Snowy slowed our momentum to something that could survive a landing. The last teleport exited right above the river, and we all fell to the water below. The current was pulling us rapidly toward the waterfall. Snowy teleported us to the shore, but left the stallions in the water. “Going to keep those promises?” Three waterlogged unicorns nodded, and Snowy winked them to the shore as well.
I unfroze the fourth, and one final teleport found Snowy and I in our shared dorm room, sans the stallions. Snowy collapsed from the effort, that last teleport being beyond her safe range. All that mattered was we were safe – she’d be fine after two hours of rest. It wasn’t the first time she’d pushed herself too far, nor would it be the last. Levitating her with water molecules was a new challenge, but I managed to get her tucked into bed.
Equestria is likely the safest nation on Equus, but every once in a while you run into a few idiots who think they can just take whatever they want. The truth is, there’s always a bigger fish.
Canterlot: seven years, two months, and three days ago (takes place during Season 9, episodes 24/25: The Ending of the End)
There was always a bigger fish. Always. And that bigger fish was now attacking Canterlot. The school was being used as a shelter, but only for unicorns. Pegasi and earth ponies were on their own. Even though nopony kicked us out, Snowy and I left in disgust. Snowy teleported us to our favorite lake; our safe haven away from the rest of the world. Nopony ever bothered coming up this way.
We watched as an unknown pink alicorn with curly blue hair demolished everything in her path as she made a beeline right for Canterlot Castle. “Flurry Heart?”
“She’s not that old, and her hair’s not blue. I have no idea who it is. We’re too far away to get a good look at her. But she looks to be about our age.”
“Are you telling me you don’t have a binocular spell in your inventory of tricks?”
Snowy pondered that for a minute, and flipped open her saddlebags. “There’s got to be something like that in here.”
“Page 97.”
Snowy flipped to the page and found what she was looking for. “How’d you know that?”
“Just because I can’t perform most of the spells in there, that doesn’t mean I can’t memorize the names of the spells and what they do. Ever since we were attacked a few months ago, I want you to have options other than just dropping us all from a mile up. I’ve seen what happens to you when you go past your limits, and splattering isn’t the end I’d wish for either of us.”
“You’re never going to forgive me for that one, are you? I can go a mile at a time constantly without tiring. It’s when I go more than a mile and a half that’s the problem. Suffice it to say I’ve learned to judge distance really well.”
“Suffice it to say I came up with my own emergency contingency plan if you ever pull that stunt again. As long as there’s enough water in the area, I can make a giant water slide to gently bring us down to a splashdown in the nearest body of water.”
“Nifty!” She was now sporting a pair of magical binoculars. “Some mare with a rook cutie mark is draining everypony of their magic. Looks like she’s got some kind of artifact. Any ideas?”
I shook my head. “Nope. What are we going to do?”
“Nothing right now. I’ve run every scenario I can think of, and there’s nothing the two of us can do to stop her. She’d walk all over us just like she did all those Royal Guards that are desperately clinging to her legs.”
“So we’re just going to sit here and watch Canterlot burn?”
“Until there’s something we can do to put an end to it, we don’t really have a better option. What’s the smarter course of action? Making a valiant, though ultimately worthless sacrifice, or developing an effective strategy to help? For example, the best thing we can do at the moment is this…” There was a flash and a pop, and suddenly an earth pony mare and her two foals were standing next to Snowy, confused. “There are caves further up the mountain. You’ll be safe up here.”
“But you’re unicorns. Why are you helping us?”
“We’re half-bloods. They don’t want us in the shelter either. Dewey, show her the way to the caves and then get back here. We’re going to have a lot of company very soon.”
When I returned, there were dozens of pegasi and earth ponies gathered around our lake, along with two griffons, a zebra, and even a dragon.
“I got everypony, and uh, everycreature I could find.” She continued scanning the streets looking for stragglers. An explosion drew her attention, along with everyone else’s, to the castle. More than half of the structure was just gone, obliterated in a flying field of debris. Snowy’s horn glowed and more ponies joined us as she rescued maids and guards from the remains of the castle.
My stomach twisted in knots as I watched the debris settle on the valley floor far below. “Was anypony in there?”
One of the maids shook her head. “That was the stained glass wing. Princess Celestia has more stained glass windows than the castle had windows to put them in, so she had just dedicated that new wing specifically for the windows. We’d already evacuated it.”
“That was half the castle!”
“The princess really likes stained glass windows.”
“Dewey! Use the moat.”
I turned my attention to Snowy, and then the disaster scene below us. Flames were licking the remnants of the castle. “Get me down there.”
“Listen up, everypony. There are caves up the mountain. You’ll be safe there.” Snowy pointed the way.
The three Royal Guards Snowy had rescued rushed up. “If you’re going down there, take us with you.”
“One of you needs to stay here to protect the evacuees.” They looked amongst one another and one of them volunteered to stay behind. Then Snowy winked the rest of us right into the middle of the chaos.
The smoke stung my eyes as I directed the water out of the moat and onto the blaze. While I concerned myself with putting out the fire, Snowy and the guards searched the smoldering remains for ponies to rescue.
Thankfully the castle had been built next to a waterfall, and there was a constant stream of water to pull from. I had the flames extinguished by the time Snowy and the guards returned with more survivors that had been hiding in the caves under the castle. Miraculously, there were no casualties, and only minor injuries. It could’ve been much, much worse.
I found Snowy gazing down the mountain and it didn’t take a genius to know what she was pondering. “Oh no, you’re not going down there. Not without me, anyway.” She didn’t even bother responding, she just winked us halfway down the mountain, and then winked us the rest of the way.
More than a quarter mile of formerly pristine forest at the base of the mountain was littered with the wreckage of what had until recently been the stained glass wing of the castle. The two of us spent the rest of the day and half the night combing the remains, but thankfully the maid had been correct, there was nothing there but broken masonry and shattered glass. Snowy even invented a boot spell to help us traverse the glass-covered terrain. I was thankful for that, as it was nice not to have to pick shards of colorful glass out of my hooves after traipsing through the debris-strewn woods for hours on end.
We teleported back up the mountain, but things were quiet. Most of the city of Caneterlot was intact; the mysterious alicorn’s rampage had been limited mostly to flinging carts and wagons out of her way as she stormed the castle. Canterlot Castle had taken the worst of it, and I couldn’t help wondering if the remains would be torn down and replaced, or if they’d rebuild it from what was left.
We returned to the caves where we’d left the others. They were empty, but rather than try to determine if it was safe yet, or if the guards had evacuated everypony else to another, safer location, we decided to just call it a night and sleep there in the cave. We were absolutely exhausted from searching through all the wreckage, and we were covered head to hoof in soot from the fire in the castle. Even though it’d been years since the last time we’d gone camping, it was just like old times snuggling up next to Snowy for warmth, and letting her soft snores lull me to sleep.
Whinnyapolis: two years, zero months, and sixteen days ago
I trotted out of Snowy’s house – she’d teleported us home for our Hearth’s Warming break from school, but the long distance had knocked her out. With as many times as we’d made the trip we had a routine. She winked into her bedroom, a safe place since nopony else had any reason to be in there. Then she’d collapse, and I’d drag her into bed and tuck her in.
It was still early afternoon, and rather than go home I decided to go shopping in town. It would be easier to get Snowy something if she wasn’t tagging along. I’d taken care of getting gifts for my parents and most of my siblings while in Canterlot – it made it less likely that I’d get somepony the same thing one of my siblings did.
My first stop was an art supplies store. Tradition born of necessity dictated that I make Snowy a gift. We did that every year as a way of saving money and having fun. We both felt that giving a gift from the heart meant more than giving a gift bought at a store. What it really boiled down to was kindergarten arts and crafts time. Looking around the store I decided to do something with beads.
I still needed to get my youngest siblings toys of some sort. I stood outside the art store, trying to remember the location of the toy store. With as little time as I spent in Whinnyapolis, it was getting harder to navigate the city I technically called home. Things that had been intuitive just a few years earlier had faded from my mind from lack of use.
“Dewdrop Dazzle?”
I looked up. An older unicorn stallion had addressed me. With a pale green coat and thinning red and yellow hair, it took me a moment to place him. “Yapple Dapple?”
“Long time, no see. How are you doing?”
I coalesced my magic in my horn, using water molecules in the air to levitate my saddlebags in the air.
He chuckled. “You’re doing well I see. I knew you could do it. I’m still teaching, so please tell me your secret. What hurdle did you overcome to make this possible? If I ever encounter another foal like you, I want to be able to help them.”
“I’m a water mage. Princess Celestia says that there hasn’t been a pony like me in centuries. Harnessing my magic is like trying to drink a lake through a straw.”
“That’s… that explains a lot. You’ve met Princess Celestia?”
“Yes, I go to her gifted unicorns school now. It’s the only place qualified to teach me how to use my magic. Though there are some things I’ll never be able to do no matter how hard I try.” I nuzzled him. “You did your best, and I can’t fault you for not being able to teach me. You tried your hardest, and when I thought I was a complete failure you lifted my spirits and told me that everypony fails sometimes and not to let those failures dictate my life. You may not have taught me magic, but you still gave me life lessons I use to this day. Thank you.”
He blushed.
“Last time we saw each other, you treated my parents and I to ice cream. Want to catch up over some hot chocolate?”
“I need to get home to my wife. I’m supposed to be picking things up from the market, but it’s not every day I run into a former student. Besides, you’ve got better things to do than have drinks with an old teacher.”
No, actually, I really don’t. I sighed and bid him farewell. It was a reminder that Whinnyapolis was less and less like home with each passing year. Spending most of my time in Canterlot meant missing out on things in Whinnyapolis. But if I hurried through shopping, I could still catch the lighting of the Hearth’s Warming lights on the city’s giant ball of yarn. I checked my watch. Snowy will have slept off her teleport by then, I can drag her along with me.
My first stop was the toy shop, where a wooden train immediately caught my fancy. For Razzle. Wait, is Razzle too old for this now? I could give it to Misty or Sunshine… I realized I was seeing so little of my siblings that I couldn’t really gauge what to get them anymore. We were growing up without each other and growing apart. That won’t do. I purchased the train for an as-yet-undetermined younger sibling and returned home.
Rainbow was reading to Misty and Sunshine when I came in. Our two younger sisters were snuggled up against her in front of the fireplace. Raindrop was lounging on her bed listening to her Fleetwood Tack record.
My brothers were playing ball in the backyard. There was no snow… yet. The first snow of the season had been planned to coincide with the lighting of the giant ball of yarn. Officially, anyway. I couldn’t help but think that unofficially, Mom had waited until Snowy and I returned home from Canterlot.
Razzle was in the kitchen making a snack for herself. I helped myself to some crackers. “You coming to the lighting ceremony tonight, sis?”
She shrugged. “If you’ve seen that eyesore lit up once, you’ve seen all there is to see.”
“Oh. Well, I was planning on going and was hoping to spend some time with you. I don’t get to see any of you as much as I used to. Misty and Sunshine weren’t even born yet when I started attending school in Canterlot.”
“Rub it in, sis. Gifted unicorn gets to spend all her time with the other gifted unicorns. Like Snowcatcher. Is she going tonight?”
“I think so. I haven’t asked her yet because she’s still sleeping off the teleport.”
“Fine. If she goes, I guess I’ll go too.”
That’s an oddly specific requirement. I dismissed that and rounded up the rest of my siblings – at least the ones old enough to be trotting across town at that hour of the night. Rainbow and Raindrop were happy to come, and Sunshine and Misty practically begged to come. I had to twist my brothers’ legs to go. They were ‘too cool’ to hang out with their sisters. I rolled my eyes and explained that if they really wanted to impress the mares in their class, not only would they hang out with us, they’d personally keep an eye on their youngest sisters.
Once my siblings had all bundled up in their winter gear, we trotted next door to get Snowy. Rainbow suggested we ring the doorbell in traditional Hearth’s Warming fashion. When Snowcatcher opened the door, she was greeted by Hailstone, Thunderhead, Rainbow, Raindrop, Razzle, Misty, Sunshine, and myself all singing a carol.
“Silent night, starry night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round the forest, parents and young
Gentle creatures, every one…”
Snowcatcher trotted back into the house. “Snow’El, it’s for you.”
Her older sister took one look at all of us on the doorstep and did a double-take, then started counting us. She blinked. “There’s more of you than I remember there being.” She looked at us all in turn. “You I know, you I know, you I know.” She puffed up her chest as she looked at my brothers. “You two I definitely know.” She looked at the two youngest fillies on her doorstep. “Okay, who are you two?”
“I’m Sunshine Dazzle!”
“And I’m Misty Dazzle. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” My youngest sister did an adorable curtsey.
Snow’El was the oldest of us, so it stood to reason that she’d stopped playing with my siblings once Snowcatcher hadn’t been around to rope her into it all the time. She took things in stride, kneeling down to look Misty in the eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet such a well-mannered young filly.” She glared at my brothers. “The rest of you should take notes.”
“Would you like to join us to watch the lighting ceremony at the ball of yarn?” Misty looked up at Snow’El with the most adorable, pleading look, flitting her wings.
The older pegasus looked like she wanted to say no, but she relented. “Let me go get dressed. Want me to drag my sister along too?”
I nodded. “That would be great. Tell her we’re done singing. That should do the trick.”
Snowcatcher had already gotten dressed while we were talking to Snow’El. She’d put on her parka, a scarf, and boots. It wasn’t snowing yet, but that was part of the ceremony. She might not need the boots yet, but she would by the time the evening was over. I quickly scanned my siblings’ hooves – all of them were wearing boots too.
I looked down – I’d forgotten my own boots, but I didn’t really need them. If I didn’t want to get splashed, I wouldn’t. One of the perks of my magic – I could repel water if I desired. There were so many amazing things I could accomplish with my magic. If only I could do the basics every other unicorn took for granted without them draining me, I’d consider my magic a gift instead of a burden. What good was the ability to change the state of water from liquid to solid in the middle of the summer without breaking a sweat, if just picking up a quill and writing my name took all my energy and concentration?
I flash froze water vapor, creating a series of steps. Sunshine hopped from one to the other, eventually landing on my back. Misty, meanwhile, was offered a ride by Snow’El. With the two youngest members of our group accounted for, we strode off towards the outskirts of town. Even with the issues I’d had finding my way earlier in the day, there was no getting lost this time. The massive ball of yarn dominated the western part of the city’s skyline.
We arrived as the last rays of sunlight painted the cloudy sky a rainbow of colors. Soon the sky would go from cloudy to completely overcast, but by then the darkness would obscure the weather team working high above us.
Without the sun’s warmth the temperature quickly plummeted. Despite our winter gear, we closed the gaps between one another to keep warm. Thunderhead and Hailstone were denied the opportunity to show off to the mares in their class, as Snow’El took Misty and Sunshine under her wings to keep them warm.
Despite the plunging temperature, the mayor read a lengthy speech to stall for time before the celebrity guest, Superstar, finally flipped the switch to light up thirty stories of yarn. Superstar then started singing Hearth’s Warming carols and the crowd joined in.
I cheered along with the rest of the crowd. Even Razzle offered a half-hearted ‘yay’ from next to me. She’d wedged herself between Snowy and myself.
Much as my little sister had suggested, it wasn’t all that exciting to watch. More exciting was that the snow finally started falling, right on cue. Mom and her team of pegasi had once again delivered the first snow of winter to Whinnyapolis. By morning, the city would be coated in white.
Canterlot: five days ago
My freshly minted diploma adorned the wall of our shared apartment, right next to Snowy’s. Both of them rattled when Snowy announced her return by slamming the door. I looked up from the pot of rice I was boiling for dinner. My aura never faltered as I kept the water at the ideal temperature. Snowy had become somewhat adept at baking, but when it came to boiling, stoves would never compare to my horn.
“So things didn’t go so well?”
“Prone to understatement much?” Snowy’s tail was lashing back and forth like an angry cat’s. “No, things didn’t go well.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“You can still take that weather team position back in Whinnyapolis. Your mom’s been keeping that spot open for you and you know it.”
“And you know as well as I do that I didn’t spend the last eleven and a half years getting an education just to go back home and be a weathermare.”
“You tied your star to mine and unfortunately for both of us, my star just crashed and burned. Cut the rope now and you can still save yourself.”
“Not happening. I tied my star to yours, as you so eloquently put it, because your star shines brighter than anypony I know. It’s almost impossible not to get swept up in your enthusiasm. So you had a minor setback. So what? You planned for this, didn’t you? You always have a contingency plan. Remember the day the Terrible Trio attacked? I would’ve rushed in and had all my magic drained, but you took a wait and see response, and we ended up rescuing ponies instead of needing to be rescued ourselves. You’re more creative than I am. You’re smarter than I am. I know you’re going to argue that, but seriously, don’t. I’ve seen your test scores and I’ve seen mine. What’s the backup plan?”
“I was thinking I might move back home to Whinnyapolis to make snowflakes for the weather team.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. Menial work or not, I could see her enjoying that. Still, it would be a tremendous waste of her talents. “You dream big – surely you have other dreams.”
“I may dream big, but you ground me. I need you. And if you want to go home to the weather job that’s waiting for you, so will I.”
“And I need you. So there’s no breaking up this duo. I already told you I’ve got no intention of taking that position. Together we can accomplish anything. Whatever you’re planning, I’m in. You know that.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded and she tacklehugged me. “I’d follow you to the ends of Equus, Snowy.”
“I was thinking about going a little beyond that…” She levitated a book over to me. “Here’s the contingency.”
It was my turn to ask, “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Doors have closed in Equestria, but there are windows opening on Earth. Let’s get in with the first wave of immigrants so we can establish ourselves early.”
I looked over the requirements. “Snowy, have you read these requirements? The first wave of immigrants leaves this week! How do you expect to learn all this in five days? Not to mention get the paperwork processed?”
Snowy’s horn glowed. “Hold still, this is going to tickle…”
“Parlez-vous français?”
“Oui.”
“How do I now know half a dozen languages I’ve never even heard of?”
“Like you said, I always have a contingency. I already studied everything, I just transferred the knowledge from my brain to yours. I’ve already got my passport. You can have yours the same day you apply.”
“How did you have time to learn all this and still manage to get your senior project done?”
“Studying these human languages was my relaxation time from the stress of working on my project.”
“You’re the only pony I know who thinks taking a break from studying means studying something else instead.” I swirled the rice around the pot, creating mini currents to keep all the kernels cooking evenly. I noted with irony that I was literally stirring a pot while figuratively stirring Snowy’s.
“Hey! I know how to cut loose and have fun. Remember karaoke night?”
“Nopony will ever forget karaoke night. Though there are many who’ve tried…”
“They rebuilt.”
“Rebuilt this city on rock and roll…”
Snowy couldn’t help herself and burst out laughing despite her foul mood. “You’ve been saving that one, haven’t you?”
“For months,” I admitted, as I poured the rice into a strainer, draining the water away. With subtle manipulation of the water vapor in the air, I dumped the contents into a pair of bowls and levitated them over to Snowy. That took all my concentration, but it was worth it to have the same basic ability most unicorns took for granted. Snowy made school look easy, while I earned my degree the hard way. “Dinner is served.”
“Merci.” She reached for a bottle of ketchup, drowning her dinner in red. I opted to cover mine in butter, allowing it a few moments to melt into the rice.
I levitated my glass of cider towards hers. “To open windows and new beginnings.”
She clinked her glass against mine. “To new beginnings and old friends.”
It was a good thing that Snowy’s magic was so strong. After we finished dinner, she teleported us home, bringing everything we owned along in the process. I barely had enough time to write a letter of resignation for my job before we left. We forfeited our security deposit since we broke the terms of our lease by leaving early, but neither of us really cared.
I tucked Snowy into her bed and calmed Snowflake down – the poor kitty absolutely despised teleporting. I was unsure if that was because of the event itself, or because his ‘Mama’ was incapacitated afterwards. Once he was snuggled up to Snowy I turned the lights off.
I’d never learned to teleport. My magic was a learning experience – not just for me, but for the professors at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns as well. Even Princess Celestia hadn’t known a way that I could harness water to make my horn glow with light. So the professors researched – there were deep sea fish that could produce light, and so they figured out how. Sometimes answers were found in ancient tomes, volumes that weren’t available anywhere else in Equestria. And sometimes I discovered how to do things completely by accident. Two of my professors had written their own books on the subject. If another water mage ever appears in Equestria, they won’t be as lost as I was. I was lucky that Seven Seas had been petrified for his crimes, which meant Princess Celestia could bring him back to help me. But he hadn’t caused any problems, and last I’d heard he was thoroughly enjoying himself in the Royal Navy. He did his time, learned his lesson, and turned his life around. But that means he won’t be there next time. Hopefully I’m not either. I’d really prefer not to be a pigeon roost, thank you very much.
Since I couldn’t wink to my own home, I made the familiar trek through the Snows’ house from Snowy’s bedroom to the door. Her parents waved as I passed the living room and I waved back. I’d let Snowy break the news to them about our next destination, I had to go tell my own family.
Thunderhead and Hailstone weren’t home. They’d taken jobs on the weather team, and Mom had kept a place on the team for me. Snowy could have one too, if she wanted. I’ll have to let her down easy.
Rainbow and Raindrop were lounging around the living room – the twins were just under the cutoff age to go to Earth. They’d sprawled out on opposite ends of the same couch, so I sat in the middle. The two unicorns closed the books they’d been reading. Raindrop had a cheap paperback romance novel – the kind the drugstores sold. Rainbow appeared to be doing homework; at least I assumed she was, because nopony her age ever chose to read that book willingly.
“I see you’re reading Withers Heights, that new book all the teenagers are talking about.” They chuckled at my joke. “Have I ever told you about the time our literature class assigned us A Connecticolt Donkey In King Grover’s Court?”
They shook their heads. “Snowcatcher turned a two-page book report into a seventeen-page term paper, giving the book a scathing review highlighting all of the historical inaccuracies and pointing out that King Grover’s real adventures were far more interesting than his fictional exploits in the book. The teacher took a quick glance at it and wrote an ‘A’ on the paper. Snowy’s insistence that he actually read her report was met with the rebuttal that her grade would go down if he did, and that the assignment never specified that she had to enjoy the book, only that she had to read it.”
They laughed.
With the ice broken I decided to drop the news on them. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. There’s no easy way to say this, but I’m going to Earth.” That got their attention. I held up a hoof to stop their questions before they could even ask. “I leave in a few days. Snowy and I wanted to come home and see everypony one last time first. Unless things change, it’ll be five years before we see any of you again. They’re still looking for the brightest and best mares to go to Earth. The two of you will soon be old enough to cross the portal. I’m not saying you should, but it’s an option you should at least consider.”
They peppered me with questions. They had some interest, but they both wanted to finish school first, which I agreed with. I promised them I’d write once we got settled and advise them as to whether they should or shouldn’t join us.
Razzle was harder to find. She wasn’t in her room, so that meant she was probably flying around. Unfortunately, her turquoise coat blended into the sky well. I dragged one of the lounge chairs out of storage and set it up in the backyard. I probably looked silly ‘sunning’ myself in the winter, but eventually she spotted me and landed.
“What’s up, sis?”
“I just wanted to tell you a few things. I’m going to Earth in a few days and I won’t be back for five years.”
She gasped. “Is Snowy going too?”
“Yes.”
She pouted. I’d finally figured out she had a crush on my friend, and since it hadn’t faded as she grew older, I figured I’d sow a few seeds. “I’ll write to you once we get settled in. Maybe you can join us in a few years, if that’s where your heart leads you.”
“I… well, maybe. I kinda promised Mom I’d join the weather team. Whinnyapolis keeps expanding, so there’s always a need for more pegasi in the sky. But Earth sounds so much more exciting than pushing clouds around.”
“I’m sure it would be. Of course, you’d probably have to stay with some already established mares until you got up and galloping on your own.” I shrugged. “Good thing you know a couple of ponies on their way to get established.”
Razzle wagged her tail at the thought. Sun, Moon, and Stars, she’s even picking up Snowy’s mannerisms. There was no way of knowing if she’d outgrow her little crush or not, but if that was still her desire when the time came, I’d certainly do my best to facilitate things. They both deserve happiness – whether it’s with each other or not. Razzle has plenty of time to figure out that last part on her own. But at least now she knows she has my blessing if this is a path she wishes to pursue.
Earth: today
“Page 46.”
Snowy flipped to the appropriate page and the bus seats lit with a soft orchid glow. She repeated the cleansing spell three times before we were satisfied enough to sit for the journey. The entire interior still smelled like the chemistry lab back at school, only with less smoke. Well, at least until the engine started.
“Well, we’re here. What’s the plan?”
Snowy shrugged. “I don’t really have one yet.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “Since when do you ever not have a plan?”
“When I need more data. We need a source of income and a place to live. I figured we could let the duchess at the consulate help with that. That’s her job, after all.”
“Seems anticlimactic for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. It’s just the Snowy I know would be telling the duchess what she wants to do with her life, instead of asking her for suggestions.”
“Well forgive me if having my dreams shattered and then my life upturned as I move to a completely different world cramps my plan making.”
Agitated tail flick? Check. “I just thought you’d have planned it all out before making the decision to come here.”
“Even I can be spontaneous.”
Had I been drinking something, she would’ve been wearing it. Instead I snickered. “Since when? Let’s be honest, you planned this ‘spontaneous’ trip to Earth months ago. Which means you’ve had more than enough time to come up with a patented Snowcatcher Great Idea.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, Dewey.”
“Oh?”
“You’re goading me into coming up with a plan.”
“Is it working?”
“Yes.” She stood up.
“Where are you off to?”
“I’m going to go make some inquiries. There are dozens of ponies on this bus. Maybe inspiration will strike once I find out what brought everypony else to Earth.”
“Good luck.”
Fire of motivation lit under Snowy’s hindquarters? Check. I’ve known Snowy my whole life. I know where the buttons are and I know just how to push them. She hides it well, but lurking under her modesty is an ego. I don’t insult her pride often, but I’ll do it in a heartbeat to stop her from wallowing in doubt and self-pity. She knows my buttons too, and I’d probably be a weathermare back in Whinnyapolis if not for her pushing mine from time to time.
I closed my eyes, content in the knowledge that Snowy would have a plan by the time I awoke. The seats weren’t the most comfortable in the world, but the monotonous sound of the tires on the pavement lulled me to sleep regardless.
I awoke sometime later to Snowy in my face. “Hotel.”
I blinked my eyes, trying to get the sleep out and process what I’d just heard. “Hotel?”
“Hotel,” she repeated.
I could live with that. It was a plan, it was a goal, and it was something we could work towards together. I nodded. “Hotel it is.”
I trailed behind the group as we entered the consulate. Snowy had done a remarkable job drumming up interest in her crazy shot in the dark hotel idea. I don’t know what I’d been expecting, but I took stock of our burgeoning company’s payroll. With the last second additions of Lily Blossom and Feathermay, we’d jumped to ten total investors. I can’t help but notice that six of them are attractive pegasi. Biased much, Snowy?
Not to mention two bona fide celebrities in Sunny Rays and Daisy Dreams. I still can’t believe either of them was here, let alone that you convinced them to go in on this crazy hotel idea. Or the fact that you didn’t recognize either one of them.
Snowy was always the ideas mare – the brains behind everything we did. But her pony skills were severely lacking, and that was my specialty. She’d solve the problems, and I’d keep everypony happy.
Snowcatcher led our group into the building, which was to be expected. The others already thought of her as their leader, and acted accordingly. I brought up the rear, sizing up the mares in front of me.
Diamond Rose followed Snowcatcher, brimming with the overconfidence that comes with knowing that the world revolves around you. Daisy Dreams was next in line; any insecurities the uptight model might be feeling were masked by the experience of years in the limelight. Feathermay followed, with an exuberance that could be likened to a foal’s natural curiosity. She was the only pegasus in our group that insisted on flying instead of trotting. Bifröst was next in line, blissfully unaware of anything going on around her. Sunny Rays and Flitterheart walked side by side, the former laying a wing on the latter’s withers, possibly for moral support, as Flitterheart looked like she wanted to fly off at every sudden loud noise in a city filled with them. Honeybuzz trailed them, observing things much as I was. That left Lily Blossom directly in front of me, completely disinterested. She followed the others without a sound other than the clip-clop of her hooves, and without taking in any of the exciting sights around us. She looked as if she’d rather be anywhere else, trying too hard not to get emotionally invested in Earth.
By the time we made it to the consulate’s waiting room I’d already drawn some quick conclusions. I’d expected the celebrities to be the egotistical ones, but it seemed that Diamond Rose was the prima donna of the group. Sunny Rays, on the other hoof, was way more laidback and low key than I would’ve expected. I’d have to be gentle when dealing with Flitterheart and firm with Diamond Rose. I’d have to calm Feathermay down and hype Lily Blossom up. I’d need to keep Bifröst focused on the tasks at hoof and loosen Daisy up a bit.
Snowcatcher wanted to meet with the duchess immediately, and she disappeared into the office while the rest of us awkwardly made small talk. Or rather, the rest of us listened to Diamond Rose brag about her accomplishments. If there was something the pompous mare despised, it was silence.
When Snowy returned I hastily volunteered to be the next to meet with the duchess to get away from Diamond’s prattling nonsense. Besides, there was something else on my mind, and I wanted to get it out in the open before Ploomette could talk to anypony else. I’d missed the opportunity to inform Snowy because inspiration hadn’t hit until after she was already meeting with Ploomette.
I’d barely sat down before Ploomette started speaking. There were no formalities, she didn’t waste time requiring bows. With the number of ponies still in the waiting room, it was obvious she didn’t have the time for such societal nuances.
“I hear you wish to go in with Snowcatcher on the hotel she’s starting.” Ploomette was straight to the point.
I nodded. “That’s correct. Though the more I think about it, the more I think it might make more sense if we started our own weather team. Earth’s weather is uncontrolled – I’m a water mage, Snowy’s a master of any spell, and out of our eight other investors, somehow we ended up with six pegasi amongst them. We could easily handle the weather of a small settlement of a few hundred people.”
“I have no doubt of that, if not for one problem. This was communicated to every pegasus before crossing the portal, but Earth has treaties specifically banning countries from altering the weather. As of right now, what you propose is illegal.”
I blinked. “Why wouldn’t humans want to control the weather?”
“It’s not that they don’t want that kind of control, my little pony, but rather how said control is achieved, and also who achieves it and what they could do to those that oppose them. Politics on Earth are wildly different than those back home in Equestria. You get used to it after a while. We expect to be able to change this as time goes by, but like I just said, things work differently here. Think of it as if there was no princess, and the Canterlot nobles and Earth Pony Council controlled everything.”
She conveniently skipped adding the pegasus duchy in there. “Nothing would ever get done.”
“So for now, there will be no weather teams on Earth. Is this hotel not what you wish to do? You’re not obligated, no matter what you may have said on the bus. If you were coerced into agreeing to this, I’ll get you out.”
I shook my head. “Snowcatcher’s been my best friend since we were foals. I’d follow her to Tartarus and back. I trust her with my life. And my future, for that matter. I was just suggesting something that would play to our strengths, something she probably hadn’t considered since she had the idea of a hotel prior to anypony other than me agreeing to join her. When it was just her and I, it wouldn’t have been feasible to be a two-mare weather team. But with the two of us and six pegasi? It would be stupid not to at least suggest it.”
“Very well then. Do you have any other questions or concerns?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then please take a seat in the waiting room. I’ll meet with all of you later. Together.”
I looked out the window of the consulate at the incredible city outside. Closely paralleled to our own Manehattan, Earth’s Manhattan was significantly bigger and busier than its Equestrian equivalent. The sidewalks were crammed with people and the roads were filled with cars. I could just catch a glimpse of the United Nations building through the window, but there was another building between us that blocked most of it from view. Equestria had built their consulate as close to the UN as possible.
Behind me, I could hear the others debating the specifics of our upcoming hotel, but I didn’t feel much need to offer my two cents. Whatever Snowy thought worked best would get my vote. She absolutely hated having a yes mare, but in all the years I’d known her, I’d never once come out ahead in a debate with her, and neither would these mares. Not even the duchess.
So I stood silently, listening to the others. Snowy could deal with the objections as they arose, but I wanted to get a feel for what each of these other mares was like. Ploomette was adamant that the hotel had to be located within the New York City metro area, but immediately shot down Rainbow Flash’s suggestion of using the empty rooms in the consulate building. Cherry Pie appeared to know a few things about running a business, but she clammed up the second Snowy asked about her qualifications. Diamond Rose just liked the sound of her own voice. Whatever her background, she seemed more concerned with amenities like hot tubs than crucial things like where we should locate the hotel in the first place. Lily Blossom hadn’t said a word, and indeed I could see a scowl on her face every time I caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. Feathermay was indecisive, often agreeing with whoever had last spoken. Honeybuzz was laid back, interjecting only periodically and after a lot of thought. Sunny Rays’ sense of humor did little to ease the tensions in the room. And saying Bifröst thought outside the box would be an understatement. She’d left the box back in Equestria.
The duchess was already losing her argument about wanting the hotel to be as close to the consulate as possible. Snowy was fine with ‘New York metropolitan area’ but firmly refused to be in the city. She’d outmaneuvered Ploomette by showing her the land prices in the city and surrounding suburbs. It was significantly less expensive the further you got from the city. Honeybuzz chose that moment to ask what land prices looked like near the portal, suggesting there’d be a market as traffic through the portal increased. Ploomette nixed that one as ‘too far from the consulate’ before Snowy could weigh in. Then she explained why she wanted it to be so close. It wasn’t just for ease of commute, but rather she wanted us close so Equestrian visitors to the consulate would have all the comforts of home if they so desired, and it would serve as a place she could invite human guests to experience Equestrian culture for themselves.
Nopony could argue with her rationale. She even suggested that once we got our hotel up and running, we could look at expanding to a second location by the portal if we were profitable. It wasn’t an order, as the duchess had no authority to make decrees, but she outranked everypony else present. She didn’t need to decree it. She stated it, and nopony objected, not even Snowy. Then it was decided to limit the search to the outer suburbs for a property that hit the sweet spot between size, price, and location.
Snowy did what she did best: solve problems with logic. And I did what I did best – I listened to the ponies she was conversing with. Snowy’s brilliant, but she’ll never be a herd pony, or ‘people person’ as they say here on Earth. That falls to me. And now that I have a grasp on the agendas each of our new business associates has, I can work with Snowy to make sure everypony gets what they want. Some would be higher priority than others, and determining the order of importance jumped to the number one spot on my task list.
The others, meanwhile, were using Ploomette’s laptop to find a suitable property. They were all crowded around the device, jostling for position. Once again, I stayed off to the side, observing. I could tell a lot about the mares by watching them. Diamond Rose was self-important, and needed to be as close as possible to the device. Honeybuzz, Flitterheart, and Lily Blossom stayed near the back, though the latter was mostly out of disinterest. A hierarchy was forming, and that was another thing I’d have to nip in the bud. We’re all equal partners in this.
Ploomette was steering the computer, since none of the rest of us had ever even seen one except in pictures. There was no shortage of properties for sale in southwestern Connecticut, northeastern New Jersey, Long Island, and the southernmost counties of upstate New York. Once Ploomette figured out how to filter by location and price, the amount of properties available to look at decreased dramatically. To the point where there was absolutely nothing suitable within our budget. Ploomette kept increasing the price until results started showing up. The first good fit showed up in Wayne, New Jersey. It was everything we wanted: a vintage mansion with a large, spacious yard. The only downside? It was triple what we could afford. The next best option was almost five times our budget.
“I guess it’s this or nothing.” Ploomette picked up the phone.
“Wait! We can’t afford that. We should look further out.”
“We’ll just have to get a mortgage.”
“We can’t. I promised these mares that at the very least, if the business venture failed, we’d keep the roof over our heads,” Snowy continued her argument.
Ploomette put the phone down. “If you wish to tap into the market for New York City, you need to be close to the city. This is already too far away, but I don’t see any better options. Do you?”
“No.”
“Then if you wish to be hoteliers, this is your chance. If you want out, speak now. I can still assist you with other career options.”
I held my breath. This was the moment of truth. If anypony objected, it was over. The house of cards would collapse and we’d all be looking for new paths forward. Would that be the worst possible thing? Running a hotel isn’t exactly my first pick for a career choice. I silenced my internal objection with logic. It’s better than no plan at all, which is what we have without this. Then I reminded myself that customer service wasn’t my strong point, let alone Snowy’s.
The room remained silent. Nopony wanted to be the first to abandon ship. Cherry Pie opened and closed her mouth a few times. Every time she got ready to object she stopped herself.
“If you fail, I’ll hire all of you to work here at the consulate. You risk only the bits you came here with.”
“I’m still in.” Snowy levitated a bag of money from her saddlebag and dumped the funny looking bills out on the table. “That’s my stipend and every last bit I had saved up prior to leaving Equestria.”
I opened my saddlebags. My own money joined Snowy’s on the table. “My vote of confidence.”
“I’m still in.” Flitterheart fluttered to the table and placed her cash next to mine. Snowy quickly separated the piles and labeled them. One by one the rest of the ponies also added to the pile on the table.
“My stipend. I’m keeping the rest.” Lily Blossom was the last pony to speak up. She pulled the necessary amount of money from her saddlebags and walked back toward one of the corners.
“That’s all I ask of any of you.” Snowy looked at the pile of money on the table. She counted out exactly the amount of the stipend for everypony there and returned the rest. Snowy levitated some money from her own pile to make up for the shortfall on Diamond Rose’s. She turned to the snow white mare. “Your percent of the proceeds will be garnished until you’ve contributed the same amount as everypony else. Further, I’m assuming control of your vote on all matters that come up until such time as I’m paid back in full. Are there any objections to this?”
There weren’t, though Lily must have found it funny since she snorted in laughter. Everypony had already figured out who was going to be running the day-to-day operations of the business. Snowcatcher was the one with the plan. Objecting would mean taking on more responsibility personally, and nopony present thought they could do a better job. At least not yet. Sooner or later there’ll probably be internal politicking, but for now everypony’s on the same page.
“You’ll gain control over my vote as well, Snowcatcher. You’ll be my proxy, as I won’t be available to assist in the day-to-day operations. I’ll have the paperwork drawn up as soon as we have a property purchased.” Ploomette once more picked up the phone. “If there are no further objections, I’m going to call the realtor and schedule a tour of this property.”
Not bad, Snowy. We might just make this work after all.
Story notes for this chapter: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/887807/story-notes-16-dewdrop-dazzle
Ask Dewdrop Dazzle questions related to the story: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/961273/meet-the-mares-dewdrop-dazzle
Big thanks to RoyaleFanaticGal for the fanart of Dewdrop Dazzle & Snowcatcher!
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...Huh. Not sure why there are no other comments. Well, I enjoyed the chapter. :)
The secret of how Snowy went from “Assistant Hero” to “Top of the class graduate with all bridges now burnt”, must be a humdinger of a story.
Snowcatcher and Dewdrop vs the world.
Great chapter. I like the dynamic between those two :-)
10063141
I think that in these first three stories, we've got some significant hints that Equestria is much uglier underneath the surface than the many ponies- especially the ones in positions of privilege and power- are willing to admit.
Don't even need a spell to get light from water, just ask the mantis shrimp...
Also this video, showing a more science-y approach:
I imagine something like magically-created ice crystals could also be used to help if just liquid water and magic aren't quite enough on their own.
Well, at least the Season 9 tie-in feels organic here. On the other hoof, there's clearly some big gap near the end which will be filled in in Snowcatcher's story.
I absolutely loved this chapter. I love Snowy and Dewy! I wish I'd read this first before the other one so I'd have known what the guy in "Business Trip" was in for. I've enjoyed all the chapters so far but this one was outstanding!