//------------------------------//
// Tour and Lunch 
// Story: Rarity's Colt 
// by Mocha Star 
//------------------------------//

Snickers followed Fluttershy down the stairs and pulled his eyes from the mare he’d spent half an hour talking and crying with to gather with the fillies that were waiting for him with grins on their faces, he noticed chewed vegetables between most of their teeth as well.

“Hi-ya, Snickers. Ah packed ya some snacks Rarity made, wanna come along fer a little tour’a the town?”

“I... maybe, what about Fluttershy?”

Scootaloo looked past Sweetie to see the mares talking. “What? Oh, she’s gonna hafta head on out ta get back to work.”

“What? You mean I made her leave work to see me?” He asked in a worried tone and looked at the content mare that walked with Rarity out of the display room and into the kitchen. 

“What? Nah, don’t worry, she works with the critters around town. Why, she’s as good with animals as my family is with apples!”

“Or as good as my sister is with dressmaking!”

“Or as awesome as Rainbow Dash is at everything!” Scootaloo hopped into the air and buzzed her wings, slowing her fall to a gentle floating. 

The others rolled their eyes while Snickers was tempted to follow Fluttershy with his eyes, then neck, but when he started to walk toward the mares he was blocked by a white blur that solidified into his aunt. “Hey, let’s go out the back. Adults like to talk about boring stuff and we have a lot to show you about our hometown.”

“Yeah, Rainbow’s cloudhouse is the best part, but there’s the school, bakery, candy shop, joke shop, hat shop…”

“While she goes on about all that, let’s actually show you! C’mon, just follow my bow and we’ll tell ya everything ya need ta know!”

“...ster Clover, he runs the… hey, wait for me!”

Snickers winced at the sunlight as he walked out into it, almost covering his eyes with his foreleg, but he knew he’d fall flat on his chest and smack his chin on the ground, which was not something he enjoyed. He saw Apple Bloom turn sharply left and followed her to the other girls who were looking at a map on the ground held between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s forehooves. 

“Where’d you get this map? Don’t say it just magically showed up from a flower, please.”

“Hehe, you’re silly, Snickers,” Sweetie giggled and lifted her hoof to cover her mouth, only to gasp and re-flatten the map when her hoof let it go. “No, I got this from Rarity. We drew it with her help while you were with Fluttershy. It’s got the best and most important parts of Ponyville, then it’s got the actual best stuff that Rarity didn’t wanna say but we added.”

He looked at the map and noticed a huge difference between the well practiced calligraphy and artistically drawn two dimensional buildings that were representations of actual places, compared to the crayon drawn boxy shapes that indicated ten times as many places Rarity had mentioned. 

He looked at the main spots and sights of town well written including popular local businesses and places everypony could go to socialize or relax. The library, park, town hall, and Sugarcube Corner were most notable. The ones the girls added included green scribbled circles that had partially written words like ‘Rstspot’, ‘chlAx’, ‘Eatnz’, and the best one he squinted at that all the girls noticed.

“What’s that mean?” he asked focusing his attention. 

“Only the best place all year round!”

He turned his head left and right, trying to see if one eye would help him read it better. “Chlanbydlak? What the fuck’s that mean?”

The girls hopped back from him while gasping. Scootaloo was the unlucky one because a bug got sucked into her mouth when she gasped. Her friends ran to her side when she pressed her hooves to her throat and started coughing. “Scoots, can ya breathe? How many hairs are in my bangs?”

“We trained for this! We trained for this!” Sweetie hopped between all her hooves in a panic while Apple Bloom asked nonsensical questions, waving a foreleg in front of Scootaloo who was just coughing and struggling to get her earth pony friend off her so she could roll to her belly. 

“Scoots, how fast does Rainbow fly? Don’t go inta the light, granny says ya need sunblock if yer in the light too long! Sweetie, she might not make it, should I go get help?!”

“We trained for this!”

“Oh, for fucks sake.” Snickers grumbled and shoved Apple Bloom back with a foreleg and then brought the same leg back quickly and landed a punch on Scootaloo’s arm. 

“Auchet!” She coughed and yelped, sending a moth covered with spit into the grass where it was forgotten about. “Why’d you hit me for?”

She was tackled by Sweetie Belle, who was all too happy to have her friend survive such a harrowing experience. Apple Bloom joined in the hug, surrounding Scootaloo with happiness. Snickers looked on with disgust that was shadowed by Scootaloo. “Freakin’ foolers, I knew it,” he snorted. 

The trio gasped, this time looking between one another to make sure they weren’t going to die from sudden onset insect inhalation, then glared at Snickers. “Ya know, that’s some bad talk ya got there. Ya don’t wanna get yer mouth washed out, do ya?”

His ears fell at the memory for a few seconds before they turned back and he frowned. “Yeah, bring it on. I’ll eat a fuckin’ bar of soap for dinner tonight, nothin’s gonna stop me from bein’ me.”

There was a door slam and his ears fell, his tail curled around his flank, and he slouched, looking at the door behind him. It wasn’t that door, but the voice that called a farewell from above him perked him right back up. “Hi Snickers, have a good day playing with your friends!”

He smiled as she flew away and then noticed the trio looking at him with smirks. “You have a potty mouth, but you have a crush on Miss Shy, don’t you?”

“What?! No, I don’t have a stupid crush on Fluttershy… and she doesn’t like to be called Miss, so stop it!”

“Ohhh, he does have a crush!”

“No, I don’t!”

They giggled and started to sing. “Snickers and Fluttershy, sittin’ in a tree! Bein’ each other’s special some-po-ny!”

He was about to shout, but it turned into a snort. “What? Seriously, that’s how you sing that?”

They looked at him, still smiling. “Well, we didn’t get ta the part where ya kiss, but if ya’d give us a minute, lover boy.”

He sighed and shook his head, looking the direction to where Fluttershy had flown toward. “Nah, it’s too late. Ya said you were gonna show me around this podunk little ball of hay and dirt, where’s my tour?”

“Hey, it’s way better than Podunk, and there’s way more than hay and dirt.”

“Yeah, there’s mud, too!” Scootaloo added with pride.

Sweetie and Apple Bloom snapped their attention to Scootaloo who was oblivious to their looks, focusing her energy on challenging the new colt in their midst. 

“Yeah, no surprise there. Let’s just get goin’, I’m hungry. Got and burgers around here?”

“Oh, yeah! That’s what we forgot to add to the map, let’s go to M and M’s!”

They cheered and made sure he was in their group before happily trotting to the eatery, while he plotted along with them staying more stoic and somewhat anxious.

Several minutes passed full of turns with excited fillies pointing to two different things at a time telling him their own, sometimes shared, experiences at the locations as they went the whole way. Snickers was overwhelmed after nearly a minute, so he shut their rambling out of his mind and thought about his weirdly emotional day.

Crying, whining, being submissive… if I was like that back home I’d be lucky to survive a beating. What’s gotten into me lately? Ever since I got here I’ve been a mess, is it because I’m a kid again?

“Snickers?”

The scream into his ear shocked him from the end of his inner monologue to his very core and he screamed in reply, scrambling from the shrill voice, falling over, then looking at the orange filly with a shit eating grin.

“See, I told you yelling at him would work.”

“Ya didn’t have ta do it that way!”

“Yeah, you really scarred him,” Sweetie reached with a foreleg to help him up. 

He took it and once standing he rubbed his ear. “Fuck you,” he hissed, “my ear’s gonna be ringing for an hour.”

He saw a blur of yellow before a sharp pain radiated across his muzzle and spread to a dull throb in a couple heartbeats. “When ya cuss, ya get a swat on the muzzle! That’s what Applejack says and Ah only got it twice before Ah learned my lesson.” she said proudly.

The pain was annoying, but not as bad as many other injuries he’d had. It was like getting slapped; only at the end of his muzzle. He sniffled, glad there wasn’t blood or significant damage done. He was preparing to kick some dirt in her face and give her a line of swears she’d never imagined working together, but stopped when he saw a yellow pegasus fly above.

He noticed it wasn’t Fluttershy, but he’d calmed enough in that instant to regather his wits. “Whatever. Can we get some food, or what?”

“See gals, works like a charm.”

Sweetie glanced at Snickers as she passed while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom followed her, with him following at the end. Once inside he noticed the rustic feel of the building that looked like a rare steak with tables that were literally picnic tables cut into thirds with new legs added. The chairs were benches angled for a pony to sit on while maintaining a natural posture, and it all smelled like greasy food.

“Finally, something kinda normal.”

“Yeah. They have so many things to choose from?! If they don’t have it, you’ll have to go to Canterlot to find it.”

“Yeah! Even Rainbow Dash eats here, like, every couple days!”

“Yeah, mah sis doesn’t eat here, though. But she’s just that way. See, everything here is pony food!”

“Except that part at the far left,” Scootaloo pointed, “there’s some meats on there. Almost nopony eats off there, but there’s a lot of reasons to get something if a diet needs it or the veggies aren’t enchanted right.”

“Wait, you mean you actually eat meat? Like, at this time and place?”

Sweetie smirked. “Well, yeah. Grass and hay don’t give enough energy for higher intelligence to work. How do you think we live on four meals a day instead of eating constantly?”

“Oh, well, I dunno. I just figured it was magic.”

The trio giggled. “We thought you hated magic as an answer, lover boy.”

“Whatever!” He marched in line and looked at the teenage stallion behind the counter. “Got any squirrel?”

“Nope. Chipmunks either. Most of our meats are from oceans and lakes. Only carnivores have to worry about the heavy reds, which aren’t for little kids like you.”

“Well, I want something from a fish that only has two eyes and normal skin. Can you do that for me?”

The girls and clerk looked at him.

“...Would you like fries and a drink with that for three bits extra?”

Snickers grinned while he thought of the meal he was about to get. He was nudged back by Sweetie Belle who placed her order and then led him to a table. He looked at the seat like a dog might look at a lobster, thankfully he learned a lot faster and when Sweetie climbed onto it and sat he was able to copy her.

Barely balancing at first, he planted his forehooves on the table and smiled awkwardly at his tablemate. “Got it on the first try.”

She giggled. “Yeah, but you’re sitting like it’s your first time sitting in a chair. Wait, this isn’t really your first time, is it?” she asked and when he looked away she looked him over. He sat awkwardly, stiffly, and seemed like he was rocking on his thighs just between his flanks rather than resting on his haunches like a normal pony would sit. 

He was looking under the table at his dangling hind hooves while she was watching him, thus she didn’t notice when Scootaloo playfully slapped her friend on the back. Sweetie tipped forward enough to land her barrel on the table’s edge as Apple Bloom hopped over the seat and sat with a little scoot to get comfortable. Scootaloo went to the other side of the table, taking a seat close to Snickers.

“So, first time sitting at a table?” she asked with another grin. He looked at her and contemplated huffing through his nose, cleansing it across her face and, more importantly, her perfectly white teeth.

Sweetie answered for him, “Yeah, maybe it is.” She said with obvious inflection that the others nodded to. “So, what’d you order?” she looked at Scootaloo.

“Ah ordered the bean burger supreme with anchovy sauce. Scoots ordered a Hay Burger combo.”

“You know it’s good, don’t deny it.”

Sweetie smirked. “For the biggest fan of the most awesome pony, you sure do eat light.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Just that Rainbow Dash eats like, two burger combo’s a day when she comes by. Twilight goes for three number ones. Applejack sneaks a fish patty when she delivers apple juice. And you eat a junior burger,” her grin grew into a smile, “so, are you trying to fit into a dress for a special colt with a snail on his flank?”

Apple Bloom gasped in surprise and looked from Sweetie to Scootaloo. “Ah knew it! Y’all’re sweet on him! I saw it last week at recess!”

Scootaloo stopped sputtering in shock. “I do not! That’s a rumor and lie! I asked him if I could borrow his eraser, that’s all,” she huffed as a blush grew.

“Sure, Ah know Ah ask ta borrow erasers during recess and not in class, especially when yer best friends sit right near ya.”

“It… I… totally not true,” she crossed her forelegs over her chest and looked away indignantly. The other girls laughed and Snickers looked between them with a small smile.

So, they’re just normal girls. Interesting, most back home would be--

“And, here ya go. Enjoy yer meals,” a mare said blandly and dropped the tray an inch from the tabletop with three empty cups with lids and straws on it before walking away.

Sweetie and Scootaloo took a moment to get drinks while Apple Bloom watched them to make sure she got her favorite drink. Drinks on the table, appetites high and patience low, a silent bell rang and they dug in.

The fillies took to their meals with a gusto that reminded him of others fighting over food, only they were sharing everything off the tray and trading bites between sandwiches. “Hey, aren’t cha gonna eat?”

He reached and took his plate from the tray and looked at the burger with a bite already taken out of it. Some hay fries slid to him from one of the fillies that were numming and humming through their mouths full of food. He took a bite from the bitten spot and he thought his taste buds were exploding. He hummed loudly and swallowed without chewing before giggling and going for another bite, this one taking a quarter of the sandwich. 

He didn’t care that the fillies were happily watching him while he chewed and moaned around his food. He didn’t care he was leaning too far back. He didn’t care when he fell onto his back. It was totally worth it to him, and as he rolled to his hooves he stumbled on the cloth covering his hind end and caught himself before he fell over.

He heard the girls go silent before they tittered and quickly whispered to one another. A couple of mares caught his eye when they pointed at him in a way to tell him something, and then he noticed a cold breeze somewhere it shouldn’t have been. He turned and saw something sway under him and, without a thought of what else to do, he turned and leapt at the cloth. 

The girls surrounded him and he waited for them to tease and mock him for exposing himself in public. “Alright, nothin’ ta see here. Just a colt that loved his food, go about yer business.”

“Yeah, don’t look at him. It’s uncouth to do that when somepony doesn’t want you to.”

“Right, what they said.”

He opened his eyes to see white legs in front of him. A glance up showed Sweetie Belle’s side and her head facing away. He looked around him at the other two and when he saw they were doing the same he felt a rush of relief. He quickly turned the fabric around, tossed it over his back, secured it with the open pins, and when he stood he slid it back. 

His heart was in his throat when he cleared it. “Oh, all fixed up. Good deal, ya still- ugh!”

Sweetie and Scootaloo leaned back when he leapt at Apple Bloom and hugged her. Not one of them was ever expecting that, so while Apple Bloom stood in surprise he just hugged her. The mares at the farther side of the room aww’ed and a few seconds later Sweetie and Scootaloo hugged him, joined finally by Apple Bloom. 

“Uh, thanks, Snickers. Why the sudden affection?”

He exhaled a warm breath across her neck that tingled her tail. “You’re the first one to ever stand up for me. I… didn’t know it felt so good to not have to take it.”

“Awwww,” they all cooed and hugged him tighter. They broke the hug when they felt him moving against them. “So, are we good to eat, or should I just eat what’s left?”

“Scoots, ya know ya can’t eat if ya wanna--” Apple Bloom was cut off when Scootaloo leapt at her friend and tackled her starting a short wrestle that ended with the earth pony on top. “As Ah was sayin…”

“Just let it go, AB,” Sweetie interrupted the duo before the manager could reach them, “let’s eat so we can get Snickers to the Sugarcube Corner and then the Clubhouse. We’ve still got a lot to do!”

The wrestlers broke it up and returned to their seats while Snickers reared up and rested his hooves on the table, taking ravenous bites of his burger until it was gone, followed by his hay fries he licked into his mouth with his tongue.

“So, gals, what’re we gettin’ fer dessert?”

“Pie!”

“No, cupcakes!”

“Pie.”

“Cupcakes.”

“Pie!”

“Cut it out, ya two! We’ll decide when we’re walkin’, besides; we’re gettin’ smoothies.”

“Ooo, good idea,” the other two said in unison.

Scootaloo looked at the colt in their group. “What about you, Snickers? Gonna shake it up with us?”

“Shake it up?” he swallowed from his straw some of the sweetest strawberry soda he’d had in his life. “Oh, yeah, sure.” He looked at the messy table with crumbs everywhere, but the food was gone. “We were really hungry, weren’t we?”

“Eeyup, now we’re gettin’ dessert! C’mon, let’s go!”

There was a chorus of approval from the CMC’s and high hooves, then they looked expectantly at Snickers and all motioned to their hooves in the air. He had a rush of a feeling he’d rarely had before and then moved quickly, reaching his hoof up and clacking it with theirs. A shared grin and they all laughed, racing out of the restaurant and towards their next destination.