private Winter Wrap Up

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Link to OOC Topic: http://mlpforums.com/topic/29873-winter-wrap-up-closed/

Three more days. Three! And then, finally, she would be able to experience the ground for the first time. What would it be like? Frozen, of course, it was near the end of the winter season which happened to be her favourite season of all time. Heck, her name was Snowflake for Celestia's sake! Clearly her parents were very intuitive with their baby pony before she was born, for they had the name picked out the moment they knew. It came to them, like magic.

 

Snowflake was outside of her home that night where in three days time she would descend from the clouds and visit Ponyville, the little village she had heard many stories about but never actually had been there. Why do three days have to take so long? she thought to herself while pacing. I don't think I can wait any longer, I just have to know! But if my parents find out... I don't want to ruin my surprise, but it's too excitinng. Snowflake spread her wings and took off into the sky, flying up about ten feet above her home before taking off in a fury. She dove then, breaking through the clouds to coast easily and look at the snow covered earth below.

 

The temptation was strong. Just to feel her hooves brushing the dusty layer of white powder would even be enough! Before she knew it, the young pegasus as blue as the night sky was decreasing her altitude and hovering over a snow mound that had been built up by ponies that shoveled snow off the side walks. Heart pounding and mind racing, Snowflake gently reached out and touched the snow with eyes as wide as dinner plates. It was cold; of course, she had felt snow before, but not earth snow. The moon cast such an ethereal glow... did she dare? Would she really put her hooves on the hard ground?

 

(Mod's Edit: Disappeared OOC Link.)

Edited August 22, 2012 by Arylett Dawnsborough

[Driz 1,552]

"Thank you, sir! Enjoy your last days of winter!" as the last costumer left the place. Shooting Star was at his daily duty at his parents' convenience store. It was almost closing time, and seeing nopony else outside, he decided to go home as well and prepare for the upcoming Winter Wrap-Up. He had applied for the sky-cleaning and that would be his very first time wrapping-up winter. How excited he was! Star put up his jacket, locked the doors and went into the cold night.

 

It was pretty late, so there was really nopony at the streets anymore. It was a straight way home though, illuminated by the street lights, so there was nothing to worry about. Luckily he knew that, because he's not the most brave pony out there after all. Star, as usual, decided to go home by hoof instead of flying so he could take his time looking around and appreciating the work of his favorite season. Something unusual caught his attention though.

 

By far, he could see something standing on the top of a snow mound on the sidewalk. It was too big to be any kind of small animal, and too small to be any kind of big one. He slowed down his pace, stretching his neck trying to cease his curiosity, until he indentified the mysterious silhouette. It was a pony, but that's all the information he had gotten until then. Too afraid of asking anything, he stood there staring, waiting for the random pony to move.

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Taking a deep breath, Snowflake allowed her hooves to finally rest on the mound of snow she had been hovering over. Because of the heavy pile, she only sank down about hoof-deep before it compacted and gave her something solid to stand on. It was... so different than how the clouds felt and much more different than flying through it. It wasn’t even melting so much from the heat of her body like the individual flakes would. Looking down, she lifted a hoof and pressed it into the snow as though she were digging into it for something. It was not ground, not yet; she still had a couple of feet to go before she would feel the earth for the first time. She didn’t even notice that the cobblestone walkway was covered in ice, the same way she didn’t notice the other pony watching her.

 

Snowy shivered and tucked her wings up into her sides as her tail flicked back and forth. “So this is it.” She whispered to herself softly. “This is what I’ve been waiting for…” Snowy’s heart was positively soaring and she took her first step- slip, to be exact. Snowflake managed to step on the ice and lose her hoofing with a positively lovely face plant that followed. “Oomph!” skidding, she wound up with her head in the opposite snow bank. Wonderful! Her first experience on the earth and she was about as graceful as a new-born foal. Thankfully there was no one around to-

 

Oh no. Snowflake had pulled her head from the bank and shook off all the snow from her hair and face, and in doing so she noticed a pony in the distance that seemed to be looking in her general direction. The idea that some pony had seen her made her cheeks hot and when she was able to stand up she stood there, stalk still and tense from embarrassment.

[Driz 1,552]

Star almost couldn't hold grinning at the clumsy slip the pony had taken. He didn't know if it was hurt though, so he swallowed the laugh and quickly went after the pony for its aid. "Hey, are you alright?" as he started to move into its direction, soon being close enough to completely identify it. "It" was a mare. A pegasus mare, coloured similarly to the dark and beautiful night behind them.

 

So many questions roamed through Star's head now. What was that mare doing standing there so late at night? Why was she playing with the snow by herself with such amusement? How was she not shivering due to the freezing, winter night? She had a scared look in her face, so Star had to approach slowly. "You gotta be more careful when playing around in the snow like that" he began "or else you might get hurt pretty badly!"

 

He reached the mare's forehead. "Ah, you're alright. It was just a scratch, thankfully." The dark-blue pegasi kept staring timidly at the pale-yellow one. "Oh, how rude of me. I didn't even introduced myself. My name is Shooting Star." No response. "So, uh... May I ask your name?"

Edited August 22, 2012 by DrizzleSTAR

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Even though she heard the other pony’s voice and the concern behind his words (despite the amused tone that slightly betrayed him), Snowy couldn’t help but be paralyzed with impending humiliation at her clumsy accident. Her dark magenta eyes seemed to just stare until a shiver ran through her body right from her hooves to the tip her nose and end of her tail. That shiver snapped her out of whatever trance she had found herself in, and with a shake of her head, Snowy was back to her old self. “BRRR!” she shuddered out as more snow puffed off her in dusty looking wisps, catching on the gentle breeze before dispersing like hot breath. “I’m… there was ice and…” for the first time in her life, she didn’t know what to say.

 

It took her a moment, but once she calmed herself down and clacked one of her fore hooves on the ice like a shy filly she was able to warm up to talking. “I’m alright, just a little cold. No big deal!” Snowflake played it off as nothing, grinning to the other Pegasus confidently before lowering her head in order to rub her forehead on her leg, inspecting for blood. “The name’s Snowflake. It’s, uh, nice to meet you, Shooting Star. Mind if I call you Star? Or do you prefer something like Shooty?” giggling in a friendly manner, the darker Pegasus looked up at the clouds with a frown on her face. “Are you from around here? Hate to sound rude, but I’ve never seen you in Cloudesdale before. Or are you one of those Ponyville Pegasus who live in these kinds of houses?” Snowflake nudged her head in the direction of the closest home she could see.

 

Truth be told, Snowflake was trying to act like she came down to the ground all the time as though she were from one of those cool Pegasus families that brought their young ones down all the time and didn’t wait until they were ‘mature’ enough for it. She hoped that she was playing it cool enough, despite her little tumble from the snow bank.

[Driz 1,552]

Before anything, Star took off his jacket and handed it over to the, now, shivering mare. "It's indeed freezing tonight. You shouldn't be hanging out like that without a coat on."

 

Relieved to see that she wasn't hurt badly - and that she was sane -, he gently grinned back to her. "Heh, well... Nice to meet you, Snowflake. My friends call me Star for short, but I don't really mind if you call me, uh... Shooty..." Not entirely true, it made him blush red like an apple when called by such a cute nickname. "And no, I'm not from Cloudsdale actually. I was born in Canterlot, and then moved here to Ponyville when still young. I've never been to Cloudsdale before..." Star quickly cut off his answer, focusing on the pegasus he had just met and was willing to know about. He saved all of his question for later though.

 

Inspecting the clumsy Snowflake up and down, Star noticed her legs trembling. He assumed that his jacket wasn't enough, and that she was still very cold. "Hey, we shouldn't be chatting out here. If you want, you can come with me to my work place. It's not very far from here at all. I can get you a hot coffee, or chocolate if you prefer. A bandage for that scratch would be just perfect as well." Carried away by his thoughts, he started walking the opposite way from his house; back to the convenience store, expecting Snowflake to follow him.

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Snowflake found herself blushing when the young stallion put his coat around her. It was a very kind gesture from one stranger to another but it was definitely appreciated. “Thank you! I guess it is a bit chilly, huh?” she grinned.

 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Shooty.” Well, if he didn’t mind, then she was definitely going to call him that. Not only was it fun to say, but it just seemed to suit him in her eyes. And when she caught the blush in his cheeks? That only made it better. It was fun to make other ponies blush! However, her eyes widened slightly at the mention of Canterlot. “In the wide, wide world of Equestria, you were born in Canterlot!? Oh, how lucky are you, huh? I mean- wait.” Snowflake had to pause and look at him as though he just grew an extra eye. “Never been to… but how? I thought all Pegasi went to Cloudesdale at least once! Almost… like a rite of passage…” she sighed, looking down to the side as the guilt began to grow in her chest. She had ruined her own birthday surprise.

 

What have I done? A moment of weakness and I become this greedy monster of ill intent

.

“Hey, yeah, chocolate sounds good, thank you.” her voice became softer, and with one final look at the clouds when Shooting Star’s back was turned, Snowflake shook her head and tread carefully over the ice before she began to follow him. But the moment her hoof made contact with real cobblestone, she stopped like a cat that had just been startled by an unsuspecting mouse. “Woah!” suddenly, her grief was gone, only to be replaced by pure excitement. “What is this stuff!?”

[Driz 1,552]

"Hehe... Well, my father used to work at Canterlot as a Royal Solar Guard when I was born, so yeah..." He paused for a second, being careful to not brag about it. "It's not a big deal though. To be honest, Ponyville is much more of a fun place to live than there." Star replied, while his cheeks regained their original colors after being called by that nickname.

 

But as soon as Snowflake began to talk about Cloudesdale, he looked away and lowered his head discretely. Fun fact though: Star noticed that the pegasus mare made similar movements right after him. It didn't looked like it had anything to do with the conversation anymore though. It looked like she remembered something she'd forgotten about, perhaps. Regardless, that just made "Shooty's" curiosity and interest towards Snowflake grow stronger.

 

Glad that she agreed to go back to the store with him, he began to back track, in the same pace he was before. Safe that Snowflake would be following him, he was thinking about what they should talk about when they got there. He was soon startled by her sudden interjection though. "What happened!? What is it!?" Star ran back towards her looking around, trying to find out why she shouted like that. The only thing he found though was the mare staring at the cobblestone road with the most amused look on her face. "...What's the matter? I don't see anything." Confusion.

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As Snowflake stood there on the cobblestone, swishing her tail in excitement, she barely heard a word he said. Something about being a royal guard? He looked awfully young but perhaps that’s how they started training before he moved to Ponyville. It all went on the backburner as Snowflake clip-clopped her hooves and laughed. “Stone! Real stone! I didn’t think it would be so noisy! I mean, scientific law would definitely say so but- oh gosh!” trotting around in a circle, Snowflake almost dropped the other pony’s coat. “Oops! Sorry” she giggled, pulling it back up over her.

 

“I have to be honest with you. I’ve never been to Ponyville before.” The young Pegasus mare had trotted on over to Shooting Star and whispered to him. “I wasn’t supposed to come here until three days from now but I just couldn’t help myself. I mean, clouds can just get so boring and I’ve never seen a tree like this before! I’ve only ever seen the tops of them and stuff! Pictures don’t do the real thing justice.” Snowflake looked fondly to a small tree that was growing along the side of the walkway. There were no leaves but it had a few icicles as though it were trying to compensate; the branches were also covered in piled up snow that the wind had not blown off.

 

“So you used to be a royal guard? Is that what you wanted to do before you got your cutie mark?” poor Snowy had not heard Star correctly. “That’s pretty cool, though! I always used to think I was meant to be librarian because I love reading, but it was not until I had my first tour of the weather factory that I grabbed onto a small obsession with snowflakes of all things! My parents are pretty good at name picking.” Grinning, she giggled softly and sighed, contented.

[Driz 1,552]

"Um... No... I said that my father was a Royal Guard in Canterlot. That's why I was born there. But we moved to Ponyville before I could even try the Royal Guard school. I don't remember mentioning anything about my Cutie Mark though..." Shooting Star was completely astonished. Snowflake was suddenly jumping around in excitement, not caring about the cold anymore and appearing to have completely forgotten about the hot chocolate she was offered. "But wait a second..."

 

Star was still processing what the suddenly cheerful Snowflake had just said. "You mean that you've never came down to 'earth' before? You mean you've never been that close to stones, trees, and anything like that?" That was a first to him, but not something completely unusual. Star was relieved in a way though, for now he knew why she was so clumsy on her hooves like a newborn filly; She had been only walking on clouds until then. In fact, he thought that was amazing. This first time experience should be simply wonderful for her.

 

Star quickly accepted the fact and became almost as excited as Snowflake. "I can show you absolutely EVERYTHING!! Just tell me what you want to see - what you've always wanted to see, and I'll be your guide!" His enthusiasm didn't last very long though. "...Tomorrow, that is. Because it's already pretty late night right now." He cleaned his throat. "Shall we just get back to the chocolate I promised you then? Meanwhile, you could tell me more about this adventure of yours!"

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“Oh!” she exclaimed suddenly, blinking at her new friend. “Your father was a royal guard? That’s still so cool! What made your family decide to move? I mean, I know you love Ponyville but was there a reason to leave Canterlot?” curiosity had filled Snowflake the same way it had filled Shooting Star, and suddenly she wanted to know more about her companion other than that he was nice enough to give her some delicious hot chocolate as well as his own coat to wear in the cold.

 

Suddenly, Snowflake shook her head and shrugged. “Nope! This is my first time! And what a time I’m having!” the young, dark blue Pegasus practically beamed at him. “I’ve never touched stone before. Or grass, but I know I have to wait for that. Snow is kind of like walking on clouds, though, but I’ve never walked on it until tonight. Ice is evil.” She frowned at that last thought.

 

“Woah! You mean it? You would show me around?? This is great! This is- oh.” Snowflake looked around and giggled. “Yeah, we should wait until tomorrow. As for that chocolate? I will gladly accept! As for my adventure?…” she began to tell him about her dreams of coming down to the ground since she was a filly. She told him, as they walked, about how she had struggled with herself to come down from the clouds and before she knew it she was on the snow bank ready to take her first step. Snowflake also went into detail about how her eighteenth birthday was in three days and that she was supposed to wait until then but temptation had been too much for her.

[Driz 1,552]

"Well, I was just a little foal when it happened, but I can still remember it... Somehow..." Shooting Star began. "My father worked as a Royal Guard, and my mother, at the Weather Factory, up there in Cloudsdale. I'm pretty sure you know about it." He assumed, before realizing it was obvious. "Anyway, what happened was that... my mother unfortunately lost her job because of a "little" incident with a hurricane. And the money that only my father received wasn't enough to maintain us in such a fancy city like Canterlot. So we had to move out." He swam a little into his memories for an instant. "...But it wasn't a bad thing at all! Like I said, I like Ponyville better. It's more fun!" Star was worried about the amount of information he had given, and was secretly hoping for the blue pegasus to not ask any further about it. He may have hidden a few pieces of information for now.

 

"That was supposed to be a surprise for your eighteenth birthday, you say?" Star asked, with a quite surprised tone. "Too bad you couldn't hold your curiosity... But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't manage to hold it either." He still didn't quite understood why her parents didn't let her come down to the ground earlier. He had never seen such restriction before. Star had an idea though. He could still surprise Snowflake for her birthday. Maybe a surprise party? He would call just the perfect pony for that.

 

Talking, they didn't even noticed as they arrived the convenience store. "Well, looks like we're here!" Star asked for the keys that were inside of the jacket's pocket, still being held by Snowflake. He unlocked the door and turned the lights on. "Well, go ahead. Make yourself at home." Star pointed at the old, ripped couch they had in there. "Your hot chocolate will be ready very soon~" as he went through the store looking for the ingredients.

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“Oh… in any case, I’m sorry to hear that she lost her job.” Frowning, Snowflake looked to him as though to offer a silent condolence. “But I’m glad to hear it worked out for the best! As a matter of fact, I vaguely remember that whole incident but I’ve heard my parents bring it up once or twice in conversation. Otherwise, I probably would have forgotten it even happened!” the young Pegasus giggled and watched as he seemed to get just a little bit distant for a moment. However, she would ask no more questions on the subject simply because she didn’t know of anything she could ask about aside from questions about where he lived.

 

In any case she nodded to him, shrugging slightly. “Yeah. I mean, my parents never thought I was really mature enough to be down here and maybe they were right,” grinning, she looked up to gesture her new scratch. “But I’m not the only one, though. There are a few others who haven’t been down there mostly due to strange prejudice about ‘ground walkers’ as they call them, but I don’t make friends with ponies like that and neither do my parents.” With a curt nod, she walked a little taller with the pride that she would never look at another pony with distaste. She was of the belief that every pony was beautiful and every pony was special who deserved love and friendship. There was nothing a pony could do (especially be born unable to fly) that would make her judge them.

 

As the pair arrived at the convenience store, Snowflake’s expression brightened at the idea of a hot cup of chocolate. She handed him the keys and followed him inside. “Thank you very much, Shooty!” she grinned, teasing him in a friendly manner by continuing to call him by that name. She took off the coat he lent her and hung it up before taking a seat.

[Driz 1,552]

Shooting Star was a lot relieved to hear that the hurricane incident didn't had much impact on Snowflake's life. He didn't remembered exactly how damaging it was, but he was afraid that his new friend held a certain grudge about it, and was going to hate him and his family because of it. He soon regained his smile and settled the subject.

 

"Hm... Ground walkers, eh? I never heard that expression before." Star nodded and remembered about the small prejudice that still existed between the three pony races. "I'm sure you'll like the ponies of Ponyville though. They're a lot fun!" I'm using this word a lot... He thought. "I can introduce you to all of my friends! There are unicorns, earth ponies and pegasus as well!" Star stopped for a moment and let out a frown, remembering about Snowflake's hometown. She was going back, obviously. Her parents should be worried, and even angry at her for running away like that. "...You'll still come, right? In three days, for your birthday... You'll come back, right?" Said the pale yellow colt, wearing puppy eyes.

 

The store wasn't very big. They had three corridors half-full with the most varied consumables, just like any convenience store. It was way warmer inside though, and despite the ugly looking couch, it was still comfortable. Shooting Star left the hot chocolate "getting hot" at the fire and was about to sit next to Snowflake at the couch, as he noticed and remembered about the scratch. "Oh, right! The bandage! Sorry, I'll be right back!" He rushed back into the corridor.

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Snowflake was of the impression that a mistake was a mistake and there was really no reason to fret over the past. You can’t change it and you can’t let it change you. Ponies who held grudges were just rude and mean- Snowflake just could not think or fathom a situation in which a grudge needed to be help. Perhaps she was too nice for her own good, but that was just the way she was raised.

 

“Yeah, it’s pretty rude if you ask me.” She nodded. “I’m sure I’ll like the ponies here, too! If they’re anything like Cloudsdale then it should be a grand ol’ time! I mean, the ponies up there can party real hard, you know? I can’t say I’ve ever met a party pony who could top them!” Of course, Snowflake hadn’t ever known of a particular pink party pony prone to surprise even the grumpiest of ponies with celebration. “Wait, so aside from you, there are more Pegasi down here? Like, a lot more or just a few more? I always assumed most of us preferred the sky to the ground- but I can’t really say anything, I’m enjoying the gravity.” She smiled at the pale yellow Pegasus and tilted her head slightly to the side. “Of course I’ll come back! Especially since I’ve made a new friend” she smiled warmly, looking deep into those eyes of his.

 

Once Snowflake turned eighteen, there was no way her parents could tell her no even if they did find out she ruined her surprise. “Oh!” she blinked, looking up to try and see her forehead once again. “I forgot about that! I don’t think it’s too bad, is it? Is it noticeable? I mean, if I don’t need a bandage I won’t…” the young Pegasus didn’t even notice that he had already left the room and rambled on to herself about it until he returned.

[Driz 1,552]

"Hm... Party ponies, you say?..." Shooting Star thought for a second and let out a small laugh. "Nope. Not at all. Never heard of anypony who can party hard around these parts." He still had Snowflake's surprise party in mind. He decided not to tell her about the biggest and "pinkest" party pony in Ponyville, who then he would ask to arrange everything. He just hoped for his acting skills to be enough to keep the secret.

 

"Yeah, there are quite a lot of pegasus in here." Star answered "I would say about the same amount of earth ponies and unicorns. Ponyville really has a little of everything." He grinned. "But they fly a lot as well! Pegasus are responsible for cleaning the skies daily, or bringing rain sometimes. There's also an acrobatic group called the Wonderbolts. They make performances every now and then around Ponyville. They're really cool! Oh, and pegasus ponies also have a huge role during the Winter Wrap-Up, which I will participate." He bragged a little. "We'll clean the whole skies and bring back the southern birds, so we will be ready for the Spring." Shooting Star smiled back at Snowflake. Her words had filled him with such happiness. "Yay! Snowy will be back!!" He laughed, calling her a similar nickname to "Shooty" and waiting to see her reaction.

 

Star soon came back holding a small first-aid kit. "Hm... Now, it isn't that bad. It was just a small scratch, thankfully. It even stopped bleeding already." He took out a bandage from inside the kit. "But we can't leave it open like that. It may contaminate with bacterias. You'll feel better, trust me." Star gently approached holding the bandage with his mouth and placed it on Snowflake's forehead.

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“Yupp! Can’t get more crazy than Cloudsdale!” she beamed, smiling broadly with pride at her follow Pegasus in the sky. The last time they had a party up there, they had gotten into trouble for filling the clouds with soda pop and making it rain cream soda over a poor farmer pony’s field. She remembered having to apologize when he was brought up to Cloudsdale with his complaint; that part hadn’t been so fun, but the party was memorable. She was astounded to no end by the idea of no party ponies in Ponyville. “Really!? Then maybe you should visit me up there sometime and I’ll show you the best day ever!”

 

Despite the idea of a fun party in the cloud city, Snowflake was just as interested in the population of the small town. “Equality in Equestria! Seems fitting.” She smiled genuinely but there was a bit of a hint of laughter in her eyes at the pun. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she sat up straighter, “OH! I know the Wonderbolts!! Well, I don’t know them, know them, but I know of them! They’re so cool! And believe it or not, I know about winter wrap ups! At least, I know what the Pegasus do because we learned about it in school. Clear the clouds, let the sun shine through… hey! Maybe that’s something we can do together? Winter won’t be wrapped up until shortly after my birthday and by then I’m sure I’ll have met some other wonderful ponies!” Snowflake blushed and giggled, covering her mouth like a shy little filly as she did so. ‘Snowy’ was a nickname that she wasn’t normally called but she did like it. “Snowy and Shooty! Friends forever!”

 

She closed her eyes and allowed the other Pegasus to apply the bandage on her forehead. “Thank you. The last thing I want is to get sick from it, especially before my birthday.” Snowflake shifted on the couch, getting her more comfortable while stifling a small yawn. It was getting pretty late, but she was still fancying the cup of hot chocolate.

[Driz 1,552]

"Visit you up there in, uh... Cloudsdale?... Heh, uh..." Star's parents had asked him to never go to Cloudsdale after the hurricane incident. They say that his family got blacklisted because of it. But Star was just so excited about meeting Snowflake, and glad to have received the invitation. Not to mention his curiosity towards the city in the skies. "...Sure, I'd love to! But, um... Let's discuss it better some other day, shall we?... I mean, we're both pretty tired right now." He didn't wanted to sound rude, but he was going to ask his parents first. He wasn't sure if they would give him the persmission, but it shouldn't hurt trying. Besides, he have always been the "daddy's boy" and that wouldn't change very soon.

 

Snowflake's knowledge about Winter Wrap-up was a surprise for him. He didn't knew they teached about it in other schools. In Ponyville, they had classes on simple and basic things leaned towards the everyday routine of an ordinary Ponyvillager. He liked the idea of her joining up the Wrap-up though. "Oh yeah! we should totally Wrap-up winter together! It'll be tons of fun! And you can also experience by yourself the work of the pony folk down here." Star's eyes sparkled like the stars themselves in the sky. "Yes... Friends forever." He kept staring at Snowflake with a big smile pasted on his face. "Heh, um... Sorry, I..." He blushed and stammered.

 

"Of course. Getting sick is no good at all." Shooting Star grinned as he placed the first-aid kit down on the floor. He then noticed how the blue mare yawned, and he couldn't help but yawning right afterwards. The clock ticked almost half past midnight after all. "Heh... I'm sure this has been a long night for both of us. I'll go get your chocolate done as soon as possible and then we should both get some sleep." He went to stand next to the stove where the fire was preparing Snowflake's treat.

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“Well, sure!” she beamed, not catching his obvious discomfort at the idea. “It would be so cool! I could show you how the weather works! Winter weather is my absolute favourite. Did you know it takes a whole year just to create enough snow for winter!? It’s fantastic! And very hard work because we make each snowflake by hoof so each one is different. You will never, ever, ever find two snowflakes to be the same! No-sir-ee-bob!” Snowflake grinned with pride as she told her tale about the weather. “We’ll definitely have to talk more about it later… and I am pretty tired, huh?” the dark blue Pegasus yawned into her hoof again. Had her new friend been unable to go to Cloudsdale, Snowflake would be pretty upset but she would understand, given the circumstances. At least they could chill together on low-laying clouds above Ponyville and Pony Watch together.

 

“Oh! Oh! What would we do together, though? I mean, I think we would be the best cloud clearers ever in all of Equestria- well, maybe not like Rainbow Dash. Do you know her? She’s an AMAZING flyer! Much better than me. But I think we should join that.” Snowflake giggled; both at what she had said and the adorable look of adoration on his face as well as the sudden embarrassment. “Don’t be sorry, silly Shooty.” The young Pegasus patted him on the shoulder.

 

Snowy watched as her new friend went to check on the hot chocolate and she smiled. He was such a nice pony! It was a shame it took them this long to meet. “I absolutely love hot chocolate.” She commented. “When I come down for my birthday, do you think you could make it for me again?” this time, it was Snowflake’s eyes that sparkled.

[Driz 1,552]

The more Snowflake talked about the Weather Factory, the more excited Shooting Star became. "A whole year to create the snow? No two snowflakes are the same?? That sounds amazing!!" He beamed, now wanting to visit Cloudsdale more than ever. "In fact, winter is also my favorite weather! I'd love to see how they do it! Must be so cool!!" He stopped for a moment, remembering about the restriction. "...Yeah, we'll talk better about it later, but I really want to go! And certainly will!" Star was really glad for have received the invite, and didn't wanted to lose the opportunity. He would find a way to convince his parents and would finally get to go to the city of the Pegasus for once. Nothing really bad could happen to him up there anyway, or so he thought.

 

"Rainbow Dash? Of course I know her! The Wonderbolts #1 fan, the fastest pegasus of all Equestria, able to break the sound barrier with a Sonic Ranboom!" He glorified the rainbow pegasus, sounding like a fanboy. "She was actually the one that invited me to join the Winter Wrap-up. She will teach me how to do it, and I hope to learn it right." Star looked away, rubbing his hoof on the back of his head. "You see, I'm definitely not the best flyer around... I'm a lot clumsy." He laughed nervously, still looking away and driving on his own thoughts once more. "This one time, I crashed on a cloud and fell right into Fluttershy's chicken house. She wasn't home, and luckily I didn't hit any of the chickens too, but they almost ran away. I called Twilight in despair and we managed to fix the house before Fluttershy came back to see it." He laughed. "That was very funny, I have to admit it..." Star snapped out of his memories. "Oh! Sorry. Fluttershy and Twilight are another friends of mine. I'll introduce you to all of them as soon as possible!" He smiled warmly at Snowflake once again.

 

Star turned back to Snowflake. "Are you kidding? I'll make you as much chocolate as you want for your birthday!" He laughed, putting out the fire and grabbing a cup from the cupboard. "In fact, I want to ask you something... What exactly do you want for your birthday? I mean, what do you like the most in a party? ...Just out of curiosity." He smiled, turning his attention back to the blue mare as he handed her the cup of hot chocolate. "It's very hot, be careful."

Edited September 6, 2012 by DrizzleSTAR

[Page.Turner 940]

“YEAH!” she exclaimed, raising herself from her seat in the excitement. “It’s so cool! You have to see it, you just have to!” In her mind, Snowflake was imagining already all the things she could do with her new friend up in the clouds. Oh, there were just too many things. They could even play hide and seek! For a moment, Snowflake was very happy that he was a Pegasus or else this meeting would have gone so much differently. Instead of thinking of things to do, she would be wishing her friend could go above the clouds at all. Well, thankfully this wasn’t the case and she was more than happy to fan girl about Rainbow Dash with him

 

“Are you KIDDING me!? You know her, too!?” she was honestly shocked. She didn’t think any ponies outside of Cloudsdale would know the rainbow-striped mane and powder blue coat in such an iconic sense. “That’s… AMAZING! I mean, not you falling into the chicken coop or anything like that, that’s just terrible and I hope you were okay! But I’m sure you’re a great flyer. Maybe it was just a big breeze that caught you off guard? Happens to me sometimes, too.” She smiled. Of course, Snowflake didn’t know any of the ponies that Star spoke of, but she nodded and smiled politely just the same, her mane bouncing as she did. “I would love to meet your friends some day!”

 

Snowflake picked up her cup of hot chocolate between herhooves with a gentle thank-you and watched as the steam flowed and swirled from the cup before blowing on it to cool it down. “It smells delicious!” she beamed before taking a very careful sip. She swallowed and giggled, “This has to be the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had! But don’t tell my mom that.”

[Driz 1,552]

Shooting Star laughed joyfully as Snowflake jumped out from the couch in excitement. He didn't used to fly very often. Not only because of his clumsiness, but he never felt the urge to explore the land from a much higher ground. At least not until he met his new friend. So many wonderful things they could do together, and so many new things he could learn! At that moment, Star had completely forgotten about his restriction. "I can't wait!! But when will it be? I mean, we're talking about discussing it later, but when exactly will this 'later' be? Only in three days, when you come back again for your birthday?"

 

Star nodded. "Yeah, Dashie is pretty often around here. She has many friends in Ponyville, and I think everypony knows her too!" Star laughed again. "It's alright! As I said, it was pretty funny. No one was hurt anyway. But I really fell purely by my clumsiness!" He grinned. Despite he not being a good flyer at all, it wasn't anything he couldn't do. Perhaps the Winter Wrap-up would help enhancing his skills as well, so he wasn't very worried about it. Star noticed a bit of awkwardness in Snowflake's look as he unconsciously mentioned his friends. "Yeah... Oh! But I'd also love to meet your friends! You mentioned they can party really hard, right? I'm willing to see how is a party in the skies like!"

 

Star blushed. "Heh... Thanks. My mom taught me how to do it, and she also taught me how to cook a few other things too. People say I'm a pretty good cook." He bragged a little. "I guess if I can't fly, at least I can make food!" He laughed, as he sat beside Snowflake again.

Edited September 12, 2012 by DrizzleSTAR

[Page.Turner 940]

"Well, yeah, like, three days until my birthday but..." Snowflake bit her lip in contemplation and hummed to herself. "Maybe... I could come back tomorrow night? I mean, if you don't mind at all." she sipped her hot chocolate happily and looked into the cup, swirling the contents around and thinking before she looked up at him with a smile. "Even if you did mind, I feel like I would come back anyway to see you!" she was teasing him, of course, but every joke held a margin of truth sometimes. He was such a nice pony and she felt their friendship was already starting off strong.

 

"She also has a really nice cloud house!" Snowflake piped in with a giggle. It was no lie that Rainbow Dash did have quite a nice home and sometimes it made Snowy a little curious. For a pony who enjoys the outdoors so much, why have such a fancy house you never stay in? Well, it was none of her business anyway. "Oh, but still, I'm sorry" she sipped from her cup again and enjoyed the feeling of warmth spreading in her stomach. The cup was almost empty now as she licked her lips. "My friends are way cool." she boasted a bit. "And their parties are always the best! And a sky party is always fantastic. I mean, the best part is probably watching the sun set! And the clouds all change colour so it's like you're dancing on the sunset itself~"

 

When he sat beside her on the couch she turned a bit to face him politely. "I'm sure you're not as bad a flyer as you say you are, Shooty." she smiled. "And besides, if Rainbow Dash is going to be helping you in the Winter Wrap Up then I'm sure you'll do better than the seniors!"

[Driz 1,552]

Shooting Star stared blankly at her for a second and then smirked gently. He wasn't sure if she was joking about coming back the day after 'just to see him', but nonetheless he filled up with joy. Snowflake was such a charming and interesting pony, and on top of that, who'd thought anyone would find such a friend like her in the middle of a winter night? It was all so fascinating. "Heh... Of course not, I... I wouldn't mind it at all." He blushed and stammered once again. "Y-you can come back whenever you want. The earlier the merrier."

 

Star lightly shook his head like to snap out of some kind of trance. The fatigue was causing him to unconsciously change topics way too often - he wasn't the intriguing pony in the room after all, he didn't want to talk much about himself. He could just imagine how life was like in Cloudsdale. The sunset should in fact be absolutely beautiful when seen from up there and the parties also sounded to be as fun as Pinkie's, beside the fact that it all happens in a floating city made of clouds. Against all odds, Star was almost fully convinced to go. He glanced over at the cup as Snowflake reached the final sips. "That will be four bits, please." Like usual, he didn't think much before saying something. Letting out such an awkward joke could cost him a few confidence points. He grinned nervously.

 

He couldn't help blushing every time Snowflake called him 'Shooty'. It was such a cute nickname and, deeply, Shooting Star loved it. Even his mom ever called him nothing more than 'Star' or 'sweetheart'. "Well... I honestly don't fly very often. I'm probably the clumsiest pony in Ponyville, or even in whole Equestria!" He obviously lacked a little of self-esteem. "But yeah, with Dashie helping me, I doubt anything could go wrong..." After all, if the blue pegasus mare did come along to the Wrap-up, he would hate to mess up in front of her.