The alarm blared, waking the huge white pegasus buck and causing him to smash the clock to pieces. “There goes another one,” Snowflake groaned to himself as he opened the drawer the clock had been resting on and pulled out a clock identical to the one he had destroyed. He slowly rose out of bed and headed to the kitchen of his cloud, going about his daily routine. He went about gathering the ingredients for his protein shake, dumping them into the blender and mixing them into a multi colored paste. He took a breath and chugged the horrible concoction, giving a loud ‘YEAH!’ as he finished it off. With that out of the way, he moved on to his real breakfast, a small bowl of cereal and an apple. After finishing that, he was ready for his morning exercises.
He moved on to the top level of his cloud where he had made his recreation room. It was decorated with everything that he needed to train his body to perfection and beyond. The cloud had a hole in the top, letting the morning sun shine in as he began lifting weights. He had done this so many times, his mind began to wander as his arms made their movements…
It was the middle of the night. The unusually small pegasus cowered on his bed as the yelling from down below could be heard. The gruff, cracked voice of a stallion cut through the air like a hot knife.
“Unbelievable. He’s a disgrace, and it’s your fucking fault!”
“Don’t say that! It’s no pony’s fault, and he’s perfect just the way he is!”
“You think a pegasus that can’t fly is perfect? You’re stupider than I thought. I’m going out, I can’t deal with this horseshit.”
The yelling stopped, and after a few moments was replaced by the sound of a mare sobbing. The colt buried his head in his pillow, softly crying as he tried to sleep.
Snowflake came to, realizing that he had drifted off into another daydream. He shook his head, turning his attention back to his exercises. He went through each of them, finally ended up at his punching bag. He went to work on it, jabbing, weaving and hooking it with all his might. He felt a sense of calmness make its way through his body as he fell into the motions of the punches, and he didn’t feel himself drifting away...
The stallion’s dark brown and pockmarked face was inches away from the colt’s, the fiery red eyes piercing into his very soul. His breath reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke.
“You’re nothing. You’re a pint sized little shit who’s going to be stepped on his whole life, and you’re going to deserve every single second of it.” The stallion stepped back and brought his hoof up, smacking the colt across the face. The colt felt blood trickle from the stinging sensation on his face, and felt tears running down his cheeks. “Don’t fucking cry, you’ve embarrassed yourself enough. At least try to have some god damned decency.” The stallion turned and walked out of the colt’s bedroom, a disgusted look on his face. The colt lay on the floor and continued crying.
Snowflake saw the hellish eyes on the punching bag, and with a sudden burst of fury, punched it. It clattered off the rack, sand bursting forth from the hole made by his hoof. His rage quickly disappeared, replaced with a feeling of embarrassment. “Oops.” He scooped up the mess with a broom and pan from the bathroom. “I needed to head outside today, anyways.” He flew up through the hole in the rec room and headed for Cloudsdale, enjoying the bright and shining day on his way there.
The colt stood in front of the huge building, watching the other foals as they flew inside. Some of them glanced over to him, whispering to their friends and snickering as they passed him by. He lowered his head and walked up the cloudy steps into the atrium, trying to blend in with the walls. He was having some success given his white coat when he bumped into a light brown colt with three basketballs on his flank.
“Well, well, what do we have here? A little blank flank with even littler wings!” He and the two colts flanking him started laughing and pointing at the poor white pegasus. “I bet my baby brother could outfly you! Bahahaha!” The three continued laughing until a high pitched voice was heard from across the room.
“HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!” The three stopped laughing, and all four turned towards the source of the voice. It was a small cyan filly, her rainbow mane sticking out everywhere. She was hovering towards the group, continuing her rant. “Just because he can’t fly doesn’t mean you can push him around like that!”
The leader of the group and the filly stared each other down. “And who are you to say that?”
“The name’s Rainbow Dash, chumps, and don’t you forget it! Now get outta here before I get really mad!” She was staring the jock down fiercely, and he eventually backed down.
“Let’s go guys, these two blank flanks aren’t worth the trouble.” The three jocks flew away, and the rambunctious filly walked over to the colt.
“Hey, are you okay? Those bullies didn’t give you too much trouble, did they?”
He was shaking, but he was able to get up on his hooves. “No, they didn’t, thanks to you. What’s your name?”
“Rainbow Dash! What’s yours?”
“Snowflake.”
“Good to meetcha, Snowflake! Do you wanna go see if we have any classes together?”
“Sure!” The colt and filly began walking towards the administration office when Rainbow Dash noticed the cut on his cheek.
“Hey, how’d ya get that?”
He looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Snowflake arrived at the Cloudsdale sporting goods store, a small little place that was well hidden by the stores surrounding it. He made his way inside and was greeted by the employees.
“Hey Snowflake!”
“There’s my stallion!”
“How’s that new weight set working out?”
He greeted them each, stopping to converse with an employee with the unusual combination of a dirt brown coat and light green mane, the image of a baseball half covered by the store uniform he was wearing. “How are you, Strikeout?”
“Fine, same old, same old. What’d ya need?”
Snowflake gave an embarrassed laugh. “Well, I actually need a new punching bag. Got a little carried away with the old one. What do you have in stock?”
Strikeout walked towards the back of the store, Snowflake following. They came upon the boxing section of the store, and Snowflake’s eye was immediately drawn to a very polished light orange one. Strikeout laughed at the expression on his face. “I thought you might like that one. It’s a professional one, used by the champs themselves. We just got it in this morning, fresh outta the box. No one’s even tested it yet.” Snowflake quickly looked back and forth between Strikeout and the punching bag with an eager face. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead.” Snowflake hurried over to the bag and laced up a pair of nearby gloves, taking his position in front of it. He wound up, and punched! The bag held strong. “Yeah! I like it! I ‘ll take it!” He took off the gloves and put them back in their original spot. “So how much?”
“30 bits.”
“You guys drive a hard bargain, but for this baby, it’s worth it. Put it on my tab.”
Strikeout nodded. “Need any help getting it home?”
“I’ll be fine by myself.”
“Alright, big guy, have fun with it.”
Snowflake unhooked the bag from its rack and wrapped the chains around his neck, waving goodbye to the employees as he made his way outside. He stretched out his small wings and headed for home.
“I’ll never be able to fly!” Snowflake was lying on the ground, panting from exhaustion. He was tired out, and Rainbow Dash was trying to improve his attitude.
“Come on, Snowflake, it’s not that bad. I mean, at least you tried your best, right?”
Snowflake looked dejectedly at her. “But my best isn’t enough! I’ll never be a real pegasus if I can’t fly!” He gave an exasperated groan and went back to sulking. Rainbow Dash again tried to cheer him up.
“Why don’t we go grab lunch? I hear there’s going to be some great pastries today!” She smiled at him expectantly, but he didn’t answer. “Fine. I’ll see you later.” Deflated, she floated across the training course towards the main school building. Snowflake watched her go, jealous of how easily she was flying. He also noticed the storm cloud and rainbow colored lightning on her flank, and was reminded that he was still a blank flank. He didn’t move until he heard a voice calling out to him.
“Hey, Snowflake, get over here, would you?” He looked up to see one of his teacher’s assistant flying coach, motioning for him to come over. He slowly got up and made his way over, wondering what the coach could possibly want.
“Yeah, coach? What do you need?”
“I’ve heard about your little problem, and I’ve decided to give you a little extra help. It looks bad if we have a student who isn’t flying by his second year, so I need to get you going. Follow me.” Snowflake obeyed, following the coach to the training room near the edge of the practice track. They made their way inside, and the coach closed and locked the door. Snowflake became nervous at this, but gave the coach the benefit of the doubt. The coach reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a syringe, filled with some kind of substance. He barred down on Snowflake. “Hold out your leg. This stuff will help you build your muscles and will get you flying.” Snowflake was still unsure about all this, but if it would help him fly, he was willing to try it. He held out his foreleg, and felt a sharp pain as the needle pierced his skin. The coach injected the drug, and Snowflake was overcome with a sense of euphoria. He felt energized, and needed to release it. He reached out for the nearest set of weights and began pumping them. The coach explained the situation to him as he lifted the weights. “Now I want you to meet me here every week at this time. We have to get you flying as soon as possible, and we have to make sure you can keep it up. Don’t tell anyone about this, especially the teachers. Make sure you work on your wings.” Snowflake took in the coach’s advice as he moved on to lifting weights with his miniature wings. He was so focused on his lifting that he hadn’t even noticed the new dumbbell that had appeared on his flank.
Snowflake had finished setting his new punching bag on the rack, and made his way down to the kitchen. He opened his cupboard and pulled out a small cup, a teapot and a packet of green tea. He filled the pot with water and set it on the oven, turning the dial. He went back to his bedroom and picked up the reading glasses that were resting on the same drawer that had been the home of the smashed clock. He put them on as he heard the kettle hissing, and hurried back to the kitchen. He grabbed the kettle off the oven and poured it into the cup, turning off the oven as he did so. He dipped the tea packet into the cup and carried it into his den. He set it on a table that was next to a huge cushiony chair and walked over to a well-stocked bookcase while muttering to himself, “Mareiavelli or Arthur C. Colt?” He eventually settled for a work by Robert Neighlein and plopped himself onto the chair, losing himself in the story.
“So you finally ponied up, huh? Took your damn sweet time getting off the ground.” Snowflake’s father walked back inside their house, leaving the door open for him. Snowflake thought that his father would have been impressed, seeing as how he had just flown home for the first time. Snowflake slowly walked into the house, intending to head for his room when his father’s voice stopped him in his tracks. “What the hell is that?” Snowflake turned, and noticed that his father had noticed the dumbbell. His father rose menacingly, a look of anger coming over his face. “A weight? Your mark is a fucking weight? That’s a god damn mistake, there’s no way a pansy like you could get a mark like that.” He closed in on Snowflake with a fire in his eyes. Snowflake started backing up until he hit a cloud, and braced himself, ready to protect himself from the blows that would come. “You fucking piece of trash, you’re not even worth the effort.” Snowflake’s father gave one final look, and then walked out the door of the house to go who knows where. Snowflake was shaking as he made his way to his bedroom.
As he made his way there, he encountered his mother, her shining white coat and golden blonde mane contrasting with her deep purple eyes. “Sweetie… did you really fly today? Did you get your cutie mark?” Snowflake nodded and turned to the side to show her the dumbbell, and she wrapped him up in a tight hug, covering him with her wings. “Oh, I’m so proud of you!”
Snowflake realized that she had started to cry. “Why are you crying, mom? Did dad hurt you again?”
His mother wiped her eyes and gazed at him. Snowflake was surprised by how sad the beautiful purple eyes were. “No, he didn’t. I’m just so happy that you’re flying…” They stopped talking and enjoyed the embrace for what seemed like forever. Eventually, and to Snowflake’s distress, they broke apart, and Snowflake started towards his room. “Honey… would you like a present?” Snowflake turned on a hoof with a delighted expression. Presents were something few and far between.
“What kind of present?”
His mother pulled a book out of a nearby cupboard. “This book was just released today. I thought you might like it, and since you flew today you can think of it as your present.” Snowflake was slightly disappointed, as he was expecting something more exciting than a simple book. His mother caught the look on his face and gave him a smile. “It’s a really good book, Snowflake. Why don’t you at least give it a try?”
He sighed, defeated, and took the book from her hoof. ‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone’ read the title. Snowflake wasn’t impressed, but he took his mother’s advice and went into his bedroom to start on it. After a few pages, he found himself hooked, and lost himself in the story…
Snowflake finished the book and put it back on his bookcase, cleaning up the now empty cup and putting his tiny reading glasses back where he found them. He once again ventured out from his cloud, heading down to Ponyville. It was early in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brilliantly. “Celestia must’ve been in a mood to show off today.” He chuckled to himself and saw his destination, a large gingerbread house that stuck out because of all the candy confections that decorated it. He landed with a thud and looked around, but the pony he was expecting to see still hadn’t arrived. “Just like her to be late.” He stood around, getting a few looks from the townspony that he answered with a wave. Not long after he arrived, he saw his friend flying through the air, heading for the gingerbread house. Rainbow Dash did a small loop and landed gracefully next to Snowflake. “Nice loop there, though I think you can pull an even tighter one if you really wanted to.”
Rainbow Dash knocked him playfully on the shoulder, then embraced him in a hug. Snowflake took extra care to not squish her in his grip. “Good to see you, Snowflake. That was some great flying in that tornado last week. You seemed really excited about it!”
He rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed at the comment. “Yeah, well, you know me. I can’t resist a challenge.”
“That I do, Snowflake. That I do.” They shared a quick laugh.
Snowflake’s voice gained a more serious tone as he continued. “Thanks for being here for me, Rainbow. This is gonna be hard enough, and I don’t think I could do it without you.”
“I wouldn’t just abandon you, Snowflake. You’re my friend, and this is what friends are for. Besides, after all the stuff we went through, do you really think I’d turn you down?” She motioned towards the door of the bakery. “Now why don’t we grab something to eat before we head out? I haven’t eaten anything today, the weather team’s had me out since before dawn.”
Snowflake nodded, and they entered the gingerbread house, Snowflake holding the door open for Rainbow.
“I can’t believe you!! How could you do this!?!” Rainbow Dash was yelling at the top of her voice at the white pegasus that was flinching at every word. He had grown tremendously over the years, finding strength in the strange substance that had been introduced to him, steroids. He had kept in contact with the coach that had gotten him started, giving him part of his work money in exchange for them. Snowflake had grown bigger than he ever imagined he could, and was now the biggest pony in Cloudsdale. Yet, even with how far he had come, he couldn’t stop taking the drugs. He was addicted to them, and his body had been showing it.
Rainbow Dash had suspected that something was wrong with him as he continued to put on muscle. She had also been surprised by just how deep his voice had gotten, not believing that the voice she was hearing today was from the same little pegasus she had met so long ago. But the most damning evidence was his wings. Despite how small they were naturally, they had gotten even smaller, and this worried her. She had finally decided to investigate, and had set up a workout session with Snowflake in the public gym. He had arrived with his training bag, and while he was warming up, Rainbow had searched through the bag, eventually finding what she had been dreading to find. She was now confronting him, the syringes held in her outstretched hoof. “How could you take these!? Don’t you remember all the videos we watched in flight school? This shit can ruin you, and it already has!” She threw them to the ground, shattering them in the process. Tears were flowing from her magenta eyes. “Damnit, Snowflake, I… I thought you were better than this…”
Snowflake found his voice and tried to defend himself. “Rainbow, this isn’t what it looks like… I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without them. They made me stronger, better. You wouldn’t understand since you were so gifted to begin with.”
Rainbow Dash suddenly glared at him with a look that sent shivers down his spine. “Don’t you dare say that!! I worked my ass off to get as good as I am today, and you… you just took the easy way out!” Her voice shuddered, but she regained herself and continued. “I was proud of you. I thought you were someone to look up to, a role model for those new kids at flight school. A role model for me. To find out… you’re just a cheat…” She couldn’t take it anymore, and rushed to the door, taking flight in the thunderstorm that had been scheduled for that day.
“Rainbow, wait!” Snowflake yelled out to her, but she was already gone in the heavy rain and pounding thunder. He stormed back into the gym, his anger rising dangerously. He grabbed the closest weight and chucked it, not caring where it landed. He repeated this with a few more weights, and was finally able to regain control of himself as the last weight went straight through the wall of the gym, plummeting to the ground below. He grabbed his bag and trudged out of the gym, flapping his small wings in the rain as he headed for home.
“Man, those were some good cupcakes!” Rainbow licked her lips and rubbed her tummy. She smiled at the pink pony behind the counter. “Great work as always, Pinkie!” Pinkie gave them a smile and wave as they exited the store. They had spent around an hour inside, talking about what the other had been up to since the last time they had had the chance to really sit and talk. The sun was creeping towards the horizon, and they knew they had to get moving.
“Do you mind if we stop and get some flowers on the way, Rainbow?”
“Of course not. I thought you might want to, anyways.”
“You could always read me like a book, couldn’t you?”
“Yep!”
The two walked through the town, greeting the ponies they crossed paths with. Eventually they came upon a small house with a multitude of flowers surrounding the front of the building. A white pony with a dark and light red mane was tending to the flowers when she saw the two walking towards her. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. Hello, Snowflake.”
“Hey, Rose. Me and Snowflake here were looking for a batch of flowers. What do ya think would work, Snowflake?” He was closely studying the flowers, looking for the perfect ones. Rainbow was still small talking with Rose when Snowflake gave a small cry of excitement and pulled out a bunch of deep lavender petunias.
“These are perfect! I’ll take ‘em.”
“That’ll be 3 bits.”
“Could you put it on my tab?”
“No problem. Hope you enjoy them!”
Rose gave them a parting wave as they took to the skies, Snowflake taking care to not crush them in his hooves. He noticed that Rainbow was snickering at him. “What’s so funny?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, nothing, I just never took you for a pony to have a tab set up with a flower shop.”
“What? I like flowers, nearly as much as I like weights and books. You of all ponies should know that there’s more to me than just my looks.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. But you gotta admit, it’s a little funny that a pony like you would have such passive hobbies, especially considering your cutie mark.”
“Heh, yeah, I guess it is a little funny.” He shared a laugh with her, then looked down at the flowers, a sad and almost lonely look in his eyes. Rainbow took notice.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Do you not like the flowers?”
He looked up at her, the sadness in his eyes still present, but somehow they no longer seemed lonely. “No, they’re fine. Great, in fact. Petunias were always her favorite flowers. These are even the color of her eyes.”
He fell silent, and they continued their flight as the sun slowly continued its own journey towards the horizon.
To say Snowflake was distraught would be an understatement. One of his only friends had just turned her back on him, and he felt more hurt now than he ever had when his father had abused him. He flew through the storm, nearly unable to see where he was going. It took him longer than he would have to get home if there hadn’t been a storm, but he eventually found his way to the front door. He walked through, and immediately noticed something wrong. His father was gone, which wasn’t that surprising, considering his drinking habit. But his mother hadn’t greeted him when he came in. She had started greeting him at the door ever since the first day he flew home, and she had never missed a single day. He knew that she wasn’t away on business, she was going to be at home all day. Snowflake tensed up, and searched the house, imagining that there might have been a burglar inside. He searched the first floor and found nothing, and slowly made his way up the stairs. There was only the long hallway connecting to the upstairs bathroom, his room, and his parent’s bedroom. He opened the bathroom door and found nothing. He opened his own door and found nothing. He set his sights on the last room, and slowly, carefully walked over to the door. It was open, though only a sliver. He put a hoof on the door and opened it, and what he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life.
It was his parents. His father, broken beer bottle in hand, a disoriented expression in his eyes. His mother, her brilliant white coat stained red, her mane disjointed, her eyes shut. The room was stained with his mother’s blood. Snowflake looked in disbelief at his father, and saw the broken bottle’s sharp edges dripping with blood. His father had sobered up enough to realize that Snowflake was standing in the doorway. He made an impassive shrug towards his wife’s body and took a drink from his bottle, despite its current condition. “The bitch wouldn’t get off my ass about the drink. She tried to take it away. What else could I do?” He slurred his speech and went back to ignoring Snowflake’s presence.
Snowflake had never attacked his father before because of his mother. He wasn’t concerned about himself, since he was now bigger than him. It was his mother he had been worried about. Snowflake couldn’t always be there to protect her, and if he struck out at his father, his mother might receive the rage that his father could no longer take out on him.
This was now no longer a concern of his. Snowflake snapped, lunging at his father will the full intent to kill him in the worst way he could imagine. Blow after blow shook his father’s body, the old pony offering little resistance. Snowflake could hardly think, and what little brain power he did have was solely concentrated on bringing about the end of a pony who had just taken away one of the only ponies whom Snowflake could find comfort in.
He would have killed his father, and would have continued the redundant beating had it not been for Rainbow Dash. She had flown to his house after their argument to make sure he didn’t do anything rash, and she had arrived just in time to hear Snowflake jump his father. She rushed up the stairs towards the sound of the fight, and saw Snowflake, his coat red from the blood of his father. The older stallion was now just a bloodied pulp, his characteristics indistinguishable from the crimson now coating him.
“Snowflake, stop it! You’re going to kill him!” Rainbow hurled herself at him, trying to tear him away from his father. Snowflake seemed to snap out of his rage at her touch, and looked down at his blood covered hooves in disgust.
“I’m no better than him…” Snowflake hurried out of the room, unable to comprehend the sight. Rainbow took a sheet from the bed and laid it over the white mare’s body with as much respect as possible. She took a final look at the broken stallion on the floor before heading off to find Snowflake. He was hovering in the rain outside, letting it cleanse the blood from his body. Rainbow cautiously approached him, not wanting to set him off.
“Snowflake…”
He whipped around to look at her, his voice cracking as he yelled out. “I was going to kill him! I wanted to kill him! Damnit, I thought I was better than him, that I wouldn’t go down his path!” Rainbow couldn’t tell whether or not the moisture on his face was from the rain or his tears. “I’m a monster, just like him! You’ve seen what I’ve done, how I got like this…” He waved a hoof over himself and pointed at his wings.
Rainbow knew she had to say something, otherwise he would be lost to her in a flurry of overpowering emotions. “Snowflake, listen to me! You’re not like your father. You’d never use your size to bully someone, and I’ve never seen you hurt anypony else.” She was slowly closing in on him. “No one will blame you for what you did. No one could. Please, Snowflake, let me help you.” She was within reach of him, and she took a chance. She took his hoof in hers, and when he didn’t react to it she closed in, giving him a hug. “You just need help.”
The two hovered there, locked in the embrace as the rain continued to pour down around them.
Rainbow and Snowflake were at the top of a small hill, looking down at the small grave.
Here lies Snowcone, loving mother and wife. She made the world a brighter place.
It was a short epitaph, but it got the message across. Snowflake carefully laid the flowers down on the patch of ground in front of the headstone and bowed his head in silence, Rainbow following his example. There was complete silence until Rainbow heard a dripping sound. She looked over and saw Snowflake quietly crying, his massive form slightly shaking, the tears falling on the headstone. She put her leg as far around his massive shoulders as possible, and they stood there for an indeterminate amount of time as the sun started to set behind them. Snowflake eventually regained his composure, shaking off Rainbow’s hoof. “Thanks again for coming out here with me, Rainbow. You’re the only pony who really understands what I’ve been through.”
“We’ve been through it together. There’s no way I could let you do this on your own.” A few moments passed. “Are you ready? You can take as long as you want.”
Snowflake’s face changed from grieving to grim and determined. “Yeah, I’m ready. We should get going now, anyways. Visiting hours must be close to being over.” Snowflake took one last longing look at the grave. “I love you, mom. Happy birthday.”
They took flight and headed for Cloudsdale.
“So you’re going to the psycho ward?” Rainbow Dash asked Snowflake. They were standing outside of the Ponyville hospital, Snowflake wearing a hospital gown like a bib because the hospital didn’t have one large enough for him. Two orderlies stood on either side, though their effect seemed more comical than serious since Snowflake was much bigger than the two.
“It’s the mental ward, Rainbow. Not the psycho ward. And I don’t know how long I’ll be in there, just that it’ll help me. I’m glad you came to see me off. I never got the chance to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, I probably would have killed my father.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m serious, though. Forget about him and try to move on, Snowflake. For yourself. For me.”
“I will, or at least I’ll try. I just don’t know if I can.”
“You can, Snowflake. Do you remember how we met?”
“Sure. You saved me from those jocks when I was still a little pipsqueak.”
“Exactly, I saved you. Now it’s time for you to save yourself.”
Snowflake had been staring at the ground, but at Rainbow’s last sentence he looked at her. She noticed a hopeful look in his eyes. “You’re right. I have to stop myself before I become even more like my father. Just… thank you Rainbow Dash.” Like they had done so many times before, they embraced, and it was with heavy hearts that they let go. “You’ll visit me, right?”
“Every day.”
He smiled, and the orderlies sensed that it was time. They led him towards the doors of the hospital, Snowflake waving one final goodbye to Rainbow before the doors closed.
They walked into the lobby of the Cloudsdale prison. It was an unfortunate fact of life that a place like this existed, but it was a necessary evil to ensure the safety of Equestria’s citizens. They walked up to the officer sitting at the welcoming desk. “We’ve got a meeting with Dust Storm.”
The officer checked his chart, then pointed a hoof at a pair of double doors that led further into the building. “Station four.” They gave their thanks and made their way into the visiting booths, eventually coming upon booth number four. Each side was a mirror reflection of each other, a perforated plate of glass separating the two. There was an officer standing guard nearby. Waiting on the other side of the glass was Snowflake’s father.
His face was a mess, covered in scars from that fateful night all those years ago. His red eyes had lost none of the hate from Snowflake’s childhood. Snowflake took a seat while Rainbow watched from afar, and Dust Storm suddenly laughed at his son. “Oh, what’s this now? The son of a bitch returns to finish the job. Too bad for you I got this glass and a bunch of officers guarding my ass from you.” He continued with his maniacal laugh until Snowflake slammed a hoof down on the table, causing it to shake.
“Shut the hell up. I’m here for one thing.”
“Oh, so you just came to apologize for what you did?”
“I’m here to tell you that you were wrong.”
Dust Storm started to crack up, having to catch his breath before he could respond. “Hehe, what, that’s it? No plot to kill me? No warning that I’ll go to hell when I die? Have to say, I’m a little disappointed.”
Snowflake continued, unfazed by the ranting of the madman opposite him. “You were wrong about me. You said that I was worthless, that I was never going to make anything of myself. I helped create the tornado that refilled Cloudsdale’s water supply. ”
“And you expect me to be proud of that? You flew around in a fucking circle. A foal could do that. Any foal except you.”
Snowflake was becoming agitated, but was refusing to show it. “I didn’t come for your approval. I came to prove to you, to myself, that I’m better than you. You couldn’t break me. You couldn’t break mom, either. That’s why you killed her.”
“That whore got what she deserved, trying to defend a little shit like you.”
Faster than anypony could see, Snowflake jumped up from the chair and threw a hook at the glass. Dust Storm flinched while Rainbow Dash and the guard rushed towards him. It was all for naught, though, as Snowflake’s hoof was just centimeters from the glass. His muscles were bulging, but he had stopped himself just in time. He got back on all fours, glaring with a fury that could rival the sun’s intensity at Dust Storm. “I won’t be like you. You deserve to die, but I’m not going to be the one who does the deed. You’ve already done that yourself.” He turned his back on the pony. “You’re not my father.” With that, he walked away from the booth.
Rainbow Dash took a parting shot at Dust Storm. “You’re disgusting. You don’t deserve to have a son like him.” She hurried to catch Snowflake, leaving him behind, stunned and silent. She pushed her way through the double doors and caught sight of a white rump leaving the prison. “Snowflake!” She called out to him, but he ignored her. “Damnit, Snowflake, would you wait up?!” She left the building to find Snowflake sitting on the edge of the cloud. She took a seat next to him, letting her legs hang off the cloud. “Are you okay?”
Snowflake sighed before answering. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just renounced my father, but that’ll barely do any good. What about my mother? Did yelling at her murderer bring her back? And what about my wings? Did proving my father wrong suddenly reverse the damage that years of abuse caused them?” He put his face in his hooves. “I’ve made mistakes, horrible mistakes that got my mother killed. What if I hadn’t taken those steroids? I wouldn’t have been in the gym that day. I could’ve stopped him.”
Rainbow rubbed his shoulder. “And what if I hadn’t invited you to the gym? I’ve made mistakes too. The point is that you can’t focus on them your entire life. You have to move on, Snowflake, and by confronting your father, I think you’ve started to.”
Snowflake pulled his head up and gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Rainbow. You may just be right.” He looked out at the sun that was now half concealed by the mountains in the distance. “Funny. It’s dusk, but it feels like the dawning of a new day.”
“That’s the spirit. Come on, why don’t we go grab some dinner? I know an awesome place that just opened up.”
“I think I’d like that.”
Snowflake followed Rainbow Dash, and for the first time in his life, he felt at ease with the world.
To Prove A Point
Written by ObeySaturnGod
