Chapter 20: Snow That Blooms In Autumn

In designing the stabilizer pack for the single-core Alicorn Engine, Gearhead decided on an eight-wing design that would attach, by way of a single ring, all around the conical core itself. He moved away from the two-winged design because that would concentrate most of the weight too far forward, and while the particles the Engine generated could deal with the weight, Gearhead did not want to divert more power than necessary away from what the Engine was supposed to be doing. He also recognized that he might have to be able to carry the stabilizer while the system was powered-down, and that could get awkward.

Gearhead made the stabilizer out of the same gemstone combination as his condensers, with an adamantine skeletal structure and frame for durability. The core processor and logic core would be located inside the ring, along with the docking collar, while energy would be stored and dispersed in the wings, depending on what was needed at a given moment.

The stabilizer would have to be able to recognize and connect with the Engine. That, and the thought about carrying both around with him, led Gearhead to thinking about giving the stabilizer the ability to deploy when he summoned it, and fly short distances to dock with the Engine. That meant creating enough flexibility in the frame for it to have enough aerodynamics to fly on its own, transform in mid-air, and dock. That also meant installing guidance lasers into the stabilizer so it could dock properly 100% of the time. Gearhead needed to upgrade the rudimentary operating system he had originally written for the Engine, to work with the stabilizer without creating conflicts that would shut the whole thing down, or cause malfunctions within the system. He also wrote in additional safety measures so that other intelligent beings would not be able to hijack the system.

Naturally, if the stabilizer system worked, the same frame could not be used with the single-core and the twin-core systems. Gearhead designed a possible stabilizer system that would plug into the cores on the twin system, instead of connecting around the cores. With some tweaks here and there, he could even keep the eight-wing design.

Gearhead’s first trial with the single-core stabilizer took place in the Laboratory. He used a gantry system to carefully lower it into place while he wore the core’s harness, and observed carefully as the two docked. He made sure the two systems were able to lock fully into place, and that the release system was also working, and then he let them do a complete system check and synchronization before running the Engine up to see how the stabilizer was affecting its output – because if the difference was not sufficient enough, it was not worth the extra weight or material.

According to the numbers, the stabilizer multiplied the single-core Alicorn Engine’s output threefold, and that was in the static test. Gearhead grinned through the thickly-floating particles, because he could not wait to take everything outside and do a full flight test.

Gearhead trotted upstairs as fast as he could. He kept a notebook in his bedside dresser in case an idea occurred to him while he was sleeping. Naturally, it was all in a code only he could decipher, so he did not need to worry about anypony else taking his ideas and running away with them. To anypony else the scrawled chicken scratch was Gibberish, but many of these sleep-inspired ideas held the key to some part of the plan Gearhead had for the Alicorn Engine system, for example the interlocking system between the Engine and the stabilizer. Gearhead had just remembered something he had written down for the stabilizer, and he wanted to go and double-check it before he moved on.

Just as he was moving past his dresser, he saw the snow-filled globe containing the dragon egg wiggle, and stopped to watch. There was another bump, and the globe shook in its cradle again. It kept jumping like this, but Gearhead could not see anything past the snow and frost, and he did not want to risk releasing all of that all over his living quarters.

It was while Gearhead was worrying that the dragon might hatch only to discover that it could not break free of the orb, and Gearhead would not be able to see it in all the snow to know to let it out, that irregular white shapes splattered against the sides of the orb, causing it to jump twice as high, and fly free of the cradle. Gearhead had to catch it between his hooves to prevent it from rolling off the table. The snow began to swirl around strangely, and then the irregular shapes and frost began to peel off of the transparent orb, becoming a silver vortex that flowed right into the tiny open mouth of the snow-white creature that sat in the middle of the containment system.

The dragon closed its mouth only long enough to see that there was more snow and frost it had missed on the floor around it, and slurped that all up. Then it belched, unleashing a shockwave that made the globe jump again. Gearhead fumbled to catch it, in the process undoing the latch. Both ends of the globe went clattering to the floor, but he managed to catch the little dragon between both hooves. The baby dragon’s long neck and head flopped down along his muzzle between his eyes, and he felt its cold begin to seep in before the dragon sat up.

As the dragon twisted and craned its neck to get a good look around the room where it had hatched (and it must have been expecting to be born into a cave, not a wood-and-stone house!), Gearhead got a good look at it. Besides the brilliant-white scales, the little creature had a short, incredibly pale blue mane, a beak, a tail of decent length, and leathery wings that it flexed and flapped free of frosty residue. Its spines were short, rounded, and a darker blue than her mane. The inquisitive chirps it had been making as it scanned the room stopped when it – she – locked her incredibly sharp, pale blue eyes onto Gearhead’s, and her left eye faded to bright green.

“Hello,” Gearhead said softly as he felt something warm seem to wrap around his head, although there was not anything there physically. “I know this is not the sort of sight you were expecting, but then... welcome to the world. Welcome to Ponyville.” Gearhead wondered what he should call the little dragon, since her mother had not given him a name or any guidelines. Indeed, even in all the books he had read, the sections on dragons were incredibly sparse. It would be difficult to imagine dragons naming their progeny in the same way that ponies did, and the only draconic name that Gearhead knew, Shadow Wright, would not suit this little one.

But ‘Snowbelle’ would, Gearhead thought. “That’s right. Welcome to the family, Snowbelle. I am Gearhead.” The little arctic dragon trilled and purred, bobbing her head slightly. Gearhead had the impression that she approved of the name, although there seemed to be something nagging at her, a little something more. Then she opened her mouth and blew softly, forming a large snowflake. Gearhead did not know how, but he knew there was a name contained within. Snowbelle’s one true, draconic name, and the one that would hold power over her when it came to magic: Fleury. That she felt such a way toward Gearhead that she knew he could be trusted with her true name was an honour even greater than being Dragonfriend, Gearhead felt. He could not tell a soul about this name, but he could leave it to Snowbelle whether she would tell anyone else. It was her name, after all. Welcome, Fleury, Gearhead thought, and was shocked to see a shock of turquoise run through her mane to match his, as though in acknowledgement. A great honour indeed. Snowbelle purred for a moment.

The happy moment passed, when Gearhead somehow felt a sensation of alarm and discomfort. He looked around, and even got a Read after setting Snowbelle down on his dresser, but did not detect a threat. He only felt the discomfort seem to migrate to his stomach, and then he heard a soft rumbling begin. He traced it to Snowbelle’s stomach. She is showing me how she feels? Oh, she’s hungry! Uh... what can I feed a hungry arctic dragon hatchling?

Gearhead knew that Spike sometimes ate hay sandwhiches and other pony foods, but he preferred gems. As baby food went, that could get to be expensive, and he had no idea what that would do to Snowbelle’s developing teeth, however it would be better all-around than ponies. Also, since Spike was a firedrake and Snowbelle was an ice dragon, their diets might be a little different.

When he thought of gemstones again, Gearhead felt a cool and sunny sensation in his stomach, and turned to see Snowbelle sitting up, swishing her tail from side to side. Her wings were half-open, but did not yet look capable of supporting her for very long. She obviously liked the idea, and that gave Gearhead another one. “Hold there,” he said, holding one hoof up in the baby’s direction, and then he bolted for one of his storage bins.

Gearhead came back with a baby blue sapphire. Snowbelle was still sitting on the dresser, but now she was thumping her tail against it impatiently. “Hold on,” Gearhead said, and then he called on his magic to imbue the ingot he was holding with Wind and Water Magic, filling the crystal with Ice Magic. “There,” he said, and then he held it out for Snowbelle to inspect.

The pearl-white dragon sniffed at the gem, and then grabbed it in her beak. As she rolled onto her back, she wrapped her tail and her legs around different parts of the gem. As he watched, Gearhead realized that she was sucking on the jewel, rather than chewing on it and eating it. Looking a little more closely, he saw that she was sucking the magic out of it – and judging by the sensation she was feeding back to him, she was satisfied by the meal.

It did not take long before Snowbelle decided she was full. She rolled over and used her tail to position the jewel so she could hold it between her wings, still containing some of the magic Gearhead had put into it. She then started to stride in circles. Gearhead wondered what she was looking for until she fed him a warm sensation surrounded in safety. Oh, she is sleepy, he thought.

The dragon looked up at him, but she was staring above his eyes. At my mane? He brought his head in close, experimentally, and the dragon hopped on, landing between his eyes. She hopped again, and there was a slight whoosh from her wings before Gearhead felt the slight contact of her paws. Snowbelle walked a couple of circles, her tail tickling Gearhead a bit, and then she lay down there on top of his head, and snoozed. At least she does not have any extreme nesting behaviour, Gearhead thought.

Gearhead looked into the mirror as he faced his bedside again, and remembered what had brought him up here in the first place. Trials would have to wait. Right now, he had to gain as much insight as possible as to the caring of baby dragons, and then he would have to figure out how he was going to keep his promise to Snowbelle’s mother. Princess Celestia had written the dragon entries in the encyclopedias, but Gearhead did not know if she had raised any dragons. He could consult with her later. Twilight had raised Spike, so she was more ideal. But if Gearhead was going to go out and ask about the care of a small animal, he had better also go to Fluttershy, because if nothing else, she would probably want to meet Snowbelle. It was the least Gearhead could do, considering Fluttershy’s cottage was nearby.

As Gearhead turned away from the mirror, having made his decision, he suddenly wondered why he was only feeling a slight cold from Snowbelle atop his head. It would make sense for him to feel more of it, since the head was one of the places from which one lost body heat the most quickly, but this did not seem to be the case here. Maybe whatever bonding had occurred between them already was protecting Gearhead from the arctic dragon’s natural cold. Did that also work the other way?

At first Gearhead was worried that he would jostle Snowbelle awake while he walked, or that the comparative autumn heat would make her uncomfortable. Evidently the motion from walking lulled the dragon into a deeper sleep, and such low ambient heat did not seem to bother her.

While Gearhead was also somewhat concerned that Snowbelle’s rolling around in his mane might result in him balding early, the most she did was nuzzle more closely into his hair with her beak. He felt a little cool from there, but it was still pretty comfortable. If Snowbelle was able to protect Gearhead from the cold, then it seemed likely that he was protecting her from a heat that would have been uncomfortable to other arctic dragons.

That brought Gearhead around to thinking about Snowbelle’s mother and the promise she had made him make. Gearhead was to take Snowbelle into the mountains in the north, where the arctic dragons would probably be living, and give the young dragon the opportunity to learn from her own kind. She would also probably end up staying and living there, but then what did the bond between them amount to if that was the case? No, I cannot think like that. Snowbelle is a dragon, so even though she has become family to me, if she chooses her draconic heritage, I will not stop her. It is what her mother wanted for her. In the first place, giving one’s egg up like that cannot have been easy, and to some pony at that.

Gearhead determined that he would do his best for Snowbelle, so that when he returned to the Canterlot Caves he could tell the elder dragoness that she did not have anything about which to worry – assuming she was alive for that long. Gearhead hoped she was.

In order to get Snowbelle to her ancestral home, Gearhead would have to survive the environment himself. Despite the protection Snowbelle gave him, he doubted it would prevent him from freezing solid in the arctic heights, or in the ice caverns that might make up the dragons’ homes. Gearhead would have to build a vessel that would protect him, and anyone riding with him, from the cold. While he was at it, it could be something that would work as a multi-purpose vessel – for research, travel, and also for carrying cargo like the materials Gearhead needed for business. And of course it would require another Alicorn Engine as its powerplant and propulsion. Equestria had its airships, but this vessel would have a design and properties that would allow it to go almost anywhere.

The ship would take time to build and test. In that time, Gearhead would do his best to raise Snowbelle. He probably should not let her eat any meat, unless it was a requirement of her diet, but then he did not know if Fluttershy would allow that to happen. Certainly some of her friends were carnivorous and omnivorous, and she would not stop them from eating what they had to eat to survive. But ponies were certainly off the menu for the dragons who lived in Ponyville. All two of them.

Gearhead was lucky to find Fluttershy at her cottage when he arrived there. “Oh, good morning,” she said in her usual soft tone. “I wasn’t expecting you so early today. Please do come in.”

“I guess this really is not part of my previous routine, but then something changed this morning. I knew right away that you would want to see first, before I go to see Miss Twilight about it.” Gearhead said, more than matching Fluttershy’s quiet voice.

“About what?” Fluttershy asked, blinking. She barely even seemed to notice the stallion’s efforts, which almost made him laugh: what was so effortless for her was difficult for others.

That is right, Gearhead thought. There are not many areas in which their expertise overlap. It may be best just to show her, but there are a few things to take care of first. “Before I show you, can you please promise to react as quietly as possible? I cannot predict how she will react when she wakes up.”

“’She?’” Fluttershy tilted her head curiously. “I can’t tell what you’re talking about, but okay.” The mare leaned forward and smiled, coyly playing Gearhead’s game as she lowered her voice even further. “I promise.”

How in Tartarus did she..? There were many other qualities and ways in which Fluttershy continued to impress Gearhead. Being absurdly quiet usually annoyed him, because he could barely hear her when she was like this, but this was a new height... or low, since it was a matter of volume. Time to get this over with, Gearhead thought to bring himself back to the matter at hoof. He lowered his head, giving Fluttershy her first view of the dragon sleeping there.

She squeaked, and Gearhead immediately looked up at the mare, afraid she had inadvertently awoken the dragon. Fortunately Fluttershy had already clapped both hooves over her mouth, only keeping her height by flying. Her eyes seemed to become huge as Gearhead watched her float closer as she inspected the creature curled up on top of her friend’s head. If she had something to say, Gearhead could not hear her.

Fluttershy backed up slowly, until she was several meters from where Gearhead stood, head still bowed. The mare uncovered her mouth, and made such a clear satisfied gesture with her legs, and with such a wide smile, that Gearhead could almost hear the ‘squee.’ Then Fluttershy’s expression turned thoughtful as she looked all around the cottage. Gearhead exchanged a glance with Angel, who merely shrugged. Despite the presence of a dragon, the bunny himself seemed unimpressed and unmoved. Gearhead wondered if that spoke to the variety of creature that visited Fluttershy’s cottage, or to Angel’s own attitude. Maybe both.

Fluttershy suddenly started pushing Gearhead, steering him toward the door. Angel jumped up to ride on the curl in his owner’s long tail as she pushed the stallion out the door, and then took the lead on the path into Ponyville. The stallion gave a mental shrug and moved to follow.

Minutes later they were inside the library, and Fluttershy was very quietly making Twilight, Spike, and Dash promise to be super-extra quiet before letting Gearhead come in further than the doorway. Gearhead himself thought this was ironic, since passing ponies could almost see the top of his head better than Twilight and the others could. But oh well.

Once the other three were sworn in, Fluttershy motioned for Gearhead to come in and let them see. Spike promptly started to jump around, claws clamped to his mouth. He was clearly overjoyed to see another dragon, and not the type that was filling the air with smoke. At first Dash recoiled with an ‘are you crazy?’ expression on her face, but when Snowbelle nuzzled into Gearhead again, her expression simply melted. Then she shook her head and scowled, but that did not last for long either.

Twilight’s reaction was the most telling of them all. She marched in close, examining the sleeping dragon from every possible angle, and then started to scramble silently about the library, looking for books with the slightest of mention of anything even remotely similar in description, aided by Spike. Once the Unicorn had had a good look around, she ushered everypony upstairs where there were less books or much of anything else to damage. They all crowded around Twilight’s bed, waiting to see what would happen.

Finally, Snowbelle seemed to respond to the air of expectation, yawning to show off her teeth. Gearhead watched and judged what she was doing not only by the others’ reactions, by them leaning in or out and the wideness of their eyes, but also by the mental impressions he continued to get off of Snowbelle, who was lazily sitting up even as she opened her eyes and became aware of the strangers around her. Gearhead was ready to send her comforting impressions, in case she panicked, but he did not like having to control her emotionally, so he held back.

For a long time, the ponies and dragons just stared at each other. When nopony still had not moved, Snowbelle craned her head back to retrieve her ice gem, and once she was holding it between her claws, she started to suck on it again, all the while keeping her eyes on those who were watching her.

“I think it is okay,” Gearhead said softly. “She does not seem to see anypony as a threat.”

“How d’you know? I mean, know for sure?” Dash asked.

“Because that is the impression she is giving me,” Gearhead said.

“Impression? She’s sitting on your head!”

Fluttershy and Twilight both shushed Dash, but Snowbelle merely flexed her wings a bit.

“It is rather amazing: she sends these impressions to my mind, like when she is hungry or sleepy. Right now she just seems... curious.”

“So you can hear what she’s feeling?”

“It is more than hearing, Spike: I feel it as well, the sensations of her thoughts and feelings. And the most amazing thing about it is that even though she does not use words, if I think about the most basic form of whatever she is expressing to me, that is exactly what it is. That is why I call it an impression.”

“You’re mentally bonded to each other,” Twilight said.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said. “I’ve heard of a hatchling bonding to the first thing it sees, but this seems to be more than that if you know what she’s thinking.”

“Wait, does that mean she knows what you’re thinking?” Dash asked.

“Maybe,” Gearhead put his hooves up so Snowbelle could walk on to them, and then he lowered her to the bedspread. They looked across at each other for a moment. “Yes, we can both get a sense of each other’s thoughts.”

“I guess you’re gonna have to hide some from her, then,” Spike said, “being like a parent.”

“There are some things she could be better off not knowing,” Twilight said. “She’s just a baby, after all.”

“I will obviously have to learn a certain mental fortitude,” Gearhead said, and Snowbelle chirped in a way that sounded like laughter. He felt it too, her amusement.

“Well, what’re you gonna do with her?” Dash asked.

“I will raise her, of course, and fulfill the promise I made to her mother.”

“That’s going to take a lot of time and effort,” Twilight said. “Whatever experience you have with your younger siblings and other foals, raising a dragon is not like that!”

“Yeah, be careful what you leave near her,” Spike said. He reached out a claw toward Snowbelle, but when she got close she recoiled a little, hissing at him. “Oh. Guess I better be careful about that,” he said, sounding and looking hurt.

“It is okay, Spike,” Gearhead said. “She will become more hardy as she grows older, and you can be good friends. I will need somepony to give her a good idea of what a dragon can be, after all.”

“A noble dragon,” Spike said proudly. “Plus, I’m the older of the two of us. I can be like her big brother!”

“Maybe,” Gearhead said, smiling. “Dragons can live many, many more years than ponies, so maybe in your terms you are not that much older than she is.”

“But still I’m older,”

“Of course. We are just teasing you,”

“’We?’”

“Me and Snowbelle. She might not have much of our language yet, but she is very, very clever, and she has ideas.”

“Your ideas, no doubt,” Dash said, grinning.

“Some,” Gearhead said.

“’Snowbelle,’ huh? That’s a pretty name,” Fluttershy said.

“You sure it’s not inspired by another ‘belle?’” Twilight asked archly.

“Seriously? Even as Dusty I knew I was too old for her,” Gearhead said.

“Who?” Spike asked, a question Owlolicious gamely echoed.

“Sweetie Belle,” Dash said, getting it.

“That’s just weird,” Spike said, shivering.

“Yes it is, and enough of that, please. Twilight, I came to you for tips on care.”

“Sorry, there’s not much I can help you with here: she’s a different type of dragon, after all. But she hatched, and she looks like she’s happy, so maybe just keep doing what you’re doing?”

“We eat different things,” Spike said, “but she really seems to like that gem.”

“Good point,” Twilight said. “Maybe you can feed her those and hay. Hey, there’s something swirling in there!”

“I loaded it with magic. Is that bad?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Princess Celestia if she knows anything about arctic dragons.”

“’Happy dragon’ means ‘happy house,’” Spike said, “and she looks happy again.”

“You’re kind of in uncharted territory here,” Twilight said, “but I’ll send a letter to the Princess and keep my eyes and ears out for new information.”

“I’ll ask my critter friends,” Fluttershy said.

“And I’ll keep out of the way,” Dash said.

“What did you come here for again?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, I wanted to see if you had books on any flying tricks I don’t know yet.”

“I might,” Twilight said, “if you haven’t learned all the classics yet.”

“Aww,”

“Rainbow Dash, do you have any idea how many times you’ve been through the library? Until I get more books, you’ll have read up on everything I have on flying! And books on meteorology and weather control are useless to you since you make up your own terminology, and even know at least as much as the books.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ve been over this a gajillion times.”

“Because it’s true,”

“Well, I’m still bored.”

“Maybe you could read up on another subject,” Gearhead suggested.

“Like what?”

“Archaeology?”

“What for?”

“To be honest I am not sure,” Gearhead said. “It just came to me.”

“Don’t tell me it was another of your dragon’s jokes,”

“I could not say,”

“Maybe we should get started on those mental exercises,” Twilight said, staring at Snowbelle as she laughed again.

While Spike sent Gearhead’s request for research material to Princess Celestia, and Twilight dove back into research mode, Gearhead himself had little else he could do about finding out how to care for arctic dragon babies – except to dive in and take care of whatever needs and wants Snowbelle herself had. And her desire for the moment was both simple and easy to fulfill: she wanted to see more of Ponyville.

All Gearhead had to do to satisfy Snowbelle was to walk around the town and talk briefly to the other ponies as they went about their business. At first they were obviously caught off balance by the sight of the little dragon, but that feeling did not last for very long.

It was not as though Ponyville, with all they had already seen, were simply ‘uncomfortable’ with a dragon’s presence, since they had gotten used to having Spike around – and he proved his worth time and again by being able to contribute to the town either by lending a helping claw or by helping Twilight and the others with the activity of the day. The ponies were set back, stunned, by the visual of a dragon standing excitedly like a puppy on the top of a pony’s head as he strode about town. Snowbelle’s excitement and posture, and especially her lolling tongue, were more suited to a furry creature like Winona than they were to a creature most of Equestria would assume was fierce and destructive.

The only way to counter Ponyville being stunned, as well as their discomfort, was to let them see Snowbelle and how happy and harmless she was. Even though he was usually uncomfortable with going up to ponies and talking to them when he did not have any business with them, for Snowbelle’s sake Gearhead did exactly that, introducing the dragon to them and talking about nothing more consequential than the weather. Snowbelle’s happiness and excitement at all the new things and faces bubbled through their connection into Gearhead, so that their alacrity overtook his own nervousness even as the dragon chirped and trilled happily away.

“Oh, that’s pretty cute,” Sweetie Belle said, as the Crusaders spotted the dragon. Gearhead was taking her past the school even as Cheerilee was letting the foals out for the day.

“She looks just like Winona!” Apple Bloom said.

“You gonna train it to attack your enemies?” Scootaloo asked.

“She is just a baby, Scootaloo,” Gearhead said. “Also, I am not sure she would agree to that.”

“So she’s the one who came out of that egg that you’ve had for all this time?” Apple Bloom asked.

“That is correct,” Gearhead said. “Let me introduce you to Snowbelle.”

“’Belle?’” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stared at Sweetie Belle.

“What?” The Unicorn filly asked, blushing in her discomfort at the sudden attention.

“It is like a flower that blooms in the winter,” Gearhead said. “A snowdrop, but different.”

The three fillies stared more closely at Snowbelle and her glistening, white scales. For her part, the dragon stared right back, spreading her wings slightly. “She is like a flower,” Apple Bloom said.

“So is she like Spike? Could you use her to send letters to a princess?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’m sure Spike didn’t know how to do that right away,” Apple Bloom said.

“I thought maybe he could do that because he was watched by a Unicorn,” Sweetie Belle said.

“I actually do not know,” Gearhead said. “Maybe she could learn a spell like that.”

<Learn magic? Okay,>

“Yes, dragons are intelligent creatures. I am certain she could learn magic.”

“Speaking of, could I come around for practice later?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Okay,”

“Yikes, a dragon!” Diamond Tiara took a mocking hop back away from Gearhead and the Crusaders, then burst into laughter with Silver Spoon.

Snowbelle growled softly, but quieted at Gearhead’s thought. They are not worth it; they are just schoolyard bullies. Gearhead knew she could have jumped at them and sprayed them with her breath attack, but it would not have done much besides get them wet. Besides, it was not okay to let such taunts bother you. All the same, bullying was not okay. “Yes, this is a dragon, and even if she was not a dragon it would be better to be careful. Teasing others is often not a good idea, because you never know what they might do that would make you regret it.”

“Ooh, you must feel real big threatening schoolfillies,” Tiara said.

“A threat? Oh no, you misunderstand me. I was bullied when I was younger, so I know that both bully and bullied can act in such a way to make each other regret what was said and done. I decided, based on your taunt, to share a little wisdom with you girls. All of you,” Gearhead said, glancing at the Crusaders.

“Pfft. Lets go home,” Tiara said, and Spoon followed her.

“What’s got into them?” Apple Bloom asked.

<They do not like being outdone,>

“No they do not,” Gearhead said.

“They don’t what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I thought... nevermind,” Gearhead went to speak a bit with Cheerilee, while the Crusaders shrugged and went on their way.

While Gearhead did not dare take Snowbelle into the Everfree Forest with him while he mined for resources, nothing prevented him from keeping her close by while he worked at developing and assembling gadgets. There was, for one thing, the crystal player Dash had asked for, which Gearhead completed while the dragon watched. And while he did not dare test it in the field just yet, Gearhead could also tune his prototype stabilizer, as well as the twin-core Alicorn Engine, which was nearing completion.

Sweetie Belle came by for her magic lesson, as promised. Rarity came with her, to watch but also probably to see the new dragon. They set up for the lesson upstairs, and while Gearhead and Sweetie Belle meditated on the floor, Rarity spent most of the time talking to Snowbelle on the bed. The dragon divided her attention between the ponies on the floor and the chattering Unicorn, trying her best to absorb everything she was hearing together with everything she was seeing. Afternoon faded into early evening, and the newborn fell asleep. Rarity spent the rest of the session cradling her while she watched Sweetie Belle.

After Rarity left carrying her exhausted little sister (strangely without any jibe against Gearhead about Snowbelle and her role in his life), Gearhead put Snowbelle on his head and went downstairs to open the shop for the few hours before everypony went to sleep. He was, after all, still running a business. Once the trickle of customers dried up, he closed up, had dinner, and tucked down for the night, Snowbelle sleeping beside him on his pillow.

In his dreams, there were two starry fields joined together as though placed within the two chambers of an hourglass. One fold felt naturally familiar in its entirety, and Gearhead decided it was his even before he saw that it was crowded with all kinds of knickknacks and gadgets and shadows of Engines he had yet to fully imagine. The other fold was mostly empty but vast. This one likely belonged to Snowbelle.

“It does,” Princess Luna said.

“Ah, good evening, Luna.”

“And good evening to you as well, Gearhead.”

“What brings you here so soon?”

“I wanted to see all this first-hoof,” Luna said. “It is incredible simply to hear that a pony has been joined mind-to-mind with a dragon, and yet here between your minds is the indisputable proof.”

“Indeed,”

“I can teach you the techniques to ward off unwanted mental intrusion, as well as those required to wall off certain sections of one’s psyche and memory. Your Snowbelle is but a child, and there are many things she does not yet need to know.”

“I agree,”

“And so we understand one another, you fully intend on seeing it through?”

“Absolutely, yes.”

“Even though some will inevitably see her as a threat, and by extension you?”

“Yes,”

“They may, in fear, attack you.”

“I will not allow her to come to harm,”

“She is that important to you?”

“She is my daughter.” Gearhead realized that it was true: he would never allow any being to harm Snowbelle, and he would likewise never harm her. They had already connected on a deep enough level that despite being of different species and despite being from different regions, Gearhead considered Snowbelle his own daughter. And that was the way he would see her, even if she decided to stay at her ancestral home.

“I can give you the location of her home,” Luna said, “but I do not imagine it will do much good without a way to get there and survive. You can ask my sister, or me, for it again, once you are ready. Unfortunately, what little we know about Arctic Dragons has little to do with raising one. We know only that they are a proud race.”

“As most dragons seem to be,”

“Indeed. Good luck, Friend Gearhead.”

“Thank you, Luna.” Gearhead watched the Guardian of the Night leave the dreamscape, and only then remembered the voice he had heard earlier in the day. It was certain, now that he thought about it, that none of the Crusaders had been speaking to him. Neither had it been Luna, communicating telepathically as she sometimes did. The only other being in Gearhead’s head besides himself was Snowbelle, and she had not demonstrated possession of a vocabulary before.

But that did not mean she did not have one. Rather, it was more likely that she had much the same menu of words at her disposal that he did! In a way, this would represent a step forward, since it meant that Snowbelle could express what she wanted from Gearhead more fully and more accurately. On the other hoof, transmitting an impression or picture came across much faster than a set of words. It was not as though one method was better or worse than the other – they were simply different.

But the difference between language within pictures and language in the form of words was something to ponder further. This would mark the second time within a short period of time that Gearhead had been inspired by a youngling.

The next day, Gearhead gave the crystal player to Dash, and she invited everypony to watch the race recording. Gearhead brought Snowbelle, and he got to see the race from a spectator’s viewpoint. One feature he enjoyed seeing was a spotlight on all the racers. They were all assigned numbers based on their starting positions.

Gearhead noticed that the first five racers were all residents of Hoofington. Racers six through nine were Winter Flight. Ten through twelve were also Hoofington residents, and then there was Spring Flight, which included Radar. Summer Flight was right behind them, and then there was a group from Las Pegasus, the sister-city to Cloudsdale. Autumn Flight was behind them, then Gearhead, and Prism Flight near the back. Gearhead also recognized the Pegasus mare who had tried to cut him off. Her name was Lightning Dust.

Uncle Windwalker was acting as a guest commentator, highlighting the different strategies the racers were using. He called attention to the difference between the team and solo racers. The two announcers followed Azure Wing’s representatives pretty closely, but also the city’s representatives, even though they started fading back early on.

As the race proceeded into the maze, Windwalker called attention to Radar’s ability. She was shown guiding Spring and the others through the most direct path without stopping or pausing. Sometimes the maze’s paths changed on her, but even when that meant her team had to backtrack to get out of loop, she did not hesitate, and Spring did not seem to question the changes.

From the start, the hoof-down favourite to win was Prism, who Windwalker called ‘Azure Wing’s fastest and most daring flyer.’ In the maze, Windwalker applauded her willingness to work with Gearhead in order to get past the obstacles. And on approach to the finish line, Gearhead saw what he had missed while he was embroiled in the race itself: Prism Flight used Contrail Boost to give them the speed they needed to overtake Gearhead and win. They had made great use of their abilities to beat him.

“That was amazing,” Twilight said.

“Eh. I coulda beaten that Prism,” Dash said. “Still, she was pretty good.”

“Of course,” Gearhead said, “Azure Wing is famous for sending many flyers to the Wonderbolts, either as straight-out members or as instructors.”

“You mean I’ll see them at the Wonderbolts?”

“She did promise to have gotten that far the next time we meet,” Gearhead said.

“I’d like to see that,” Dash said with a huge grin. Next Chapter: 21. Industrial Evolution Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 33 Minutes