//------------------------------// // Running Away // Story: Rarity's Colt // by Mocha Star //------------------------------// Snickers followed Rarity in a dash through town, he didn’t know anyone or where anything was, so he did his best to look at the filly dazedly bouncing on her sisters back ahead of him. His hooves were caked with mud, in fact most of him was far dirtier than he’d been since he arrived in Equestria a few days prior.  His mind raced, going over the events again and again, he slowed and watched Rarity reach the library he’d yet to visit or find out about. The door glowed blue and smashed off its hinges as Rarity screamed a name. He trembled and looked from side to side, then turned and ran away with a heavy weight in his chest. He ran, he didn’t care where, only that he get away from everypony and take his bad luck with him. Clearing the town he crested a hill and looked back, turning to face the hamlet for the last time.  “Why’re you out alone so late?”  Snickers screamed shortly and looked behind him, then around him seeing no one. A snicker above him got his attention and he balked at the blue pegasus mare hovering over him. “D-dash?” “Ha, my reputation persuades me,” she polished a forehoof on her chest fluff while posing. “So, who’re you, little buddy,” she crossed her forelegs and hovered lower so she could see his face. “Hey, are you okay?” she landed and ruffled her wings to her sides as she approached him. He staggered back from her as she approached. He nodded curtly and mumbled to himself while keeping distance from her, but she persisted. “Hey, buddy. Look, you’ve been crying and I totally get that colts do that a whole lot; is that why you’re running around at night?” “N-no, ma’am… I’m,” he inhaled and exhaled and let her approach him, “I’m running away.” Rainbow’s ears rose and she looked at him with wide eyes. “I’m  a walking disaster, I’ve been here one day and I’ve made more trouble than twenty back home…” he turned and started to walk away. Rainbow hopped once and was in front of him. “Woah, nopony’s that bad. Hey, look, um,” she looked around in thought, “can I carry you to a place I know? It’s not far and I promise you’ll like it.” He raised an eyebrow, looking her from her eyes to her mark and back. Her wings ruffled. “How far is it?” “Just over that way a bit,” he pointed, “c’mon, it’ll be the most fun you’ve ever had, flying with me is something every colt and filly begs for, and I’m offering it to you. You’re one of a select few,” she said with a cocky grin.  “Fine, but no to’ooO--” he said and then let it grow into a shout when he realized he was flying like a plane taking off, only much quicker than he was expecting and with significantly less safety equipment. He reached his legs around and felt Rainbow’s, then wrapped his around hers and held on for dear life. It was a moment he didn’t care about covering his hindquarters, because there was no chance anything was going to happen down there like this. The descent was rapid and sudden, she placed him on his hooves and to his embarrassment he peed a little from the terror. He took a step forward and fell over, still shaking from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Rainbow dropped a fruit by his head. “Once you stop shaking, eat up. That helps with coming down from the rush, most foals need it after being around my awesome.” He glared at her as he got up from the short grass. “It’s probably because you scare the shit out of everypony you do that to!” “Woah, who the fuck taught you to swear at your age?” He opened his mouth to snap back, then his brain caught up. “Wait, what?” “Ha, nice,” she tapped her forehoof on the ground three times. “A guy that knows how a real mare talks! Even though you’re kinda small, are you a small stallion, or a snarky colt?” Snickers felt himself smiling. “I’m Snickers, there’s no real difference.” Rainbow looked at him, then fell over laughing. She rolled to her back and kicked her hind legs while holding her barrel with her fore. “Well, glad to see I can make you laugh, but I’m having a crisis and if you’re not gonna give me some magic pills to make me forget for a while, or a mushroom, then I’m just gonna,” he turned and started to leave in a random direction. Rainbow rolled to her hooves and flapped to fly to him, she blocked him and he looked up to her. “Move.” “Or what,” she snickered and looked down on him. “What’re you gonna do to make me?” He brought his foreleg up fast and followed her tail until hoof met flesh. Rainbow’s wings went rigid and she fell to the ground on her side, her forelegs between her thighs at what he’d struck. “Just a little move I call the cunt punt, nice playing. One point to me,” he trotted around her and made it a few paces before a sharp and dull pain struck him through his tail. His voice hitched in a baby bird like squeak and he fell forward, his tail did nothing to protect himself, but he still used it and his forehooves to cover his tender tenders. Rainbow stood over him a moment later and chuckled with hesitant breaths. “I call that playing pin balls, one for me, jerk face!” They shared a glower and sneered at one another before chuckling and making a silent pact to not mess around. She lay facing him like Fluttershy had a short few hours ago. “We’re tied, I guess. Nice hit, by the way. I thought you were down, then you hit back without expecting it.” “I’ve played that a few times when some colt tries to get fresh and thinks I’m ready for a mounting after a drink or ten,” she giggled and bumped his raised forehoof. “I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?” He placed his hooves on the ground and pushed himself up, there was an ache that felt like a string was tugging from his balls to his sternum, pulling more taut when he sat tall, so he slouched. “Nah, not only have I had worse, I actually expected it then and it hurt even more that way.” She grimaced from the dull ache that he’d given her and the thought of what it must have been like on his end back whenever. “That sucks, dude. You gonna be okay? I can, like, take you to the hospital if you’re--” “No,” he interrupted, “I’m not going there, I put my friend there tonight. That’s why I’m leaving.” “Leaving, or running away?” “Is there a freaking difference?” he asked glumly. “Well, leaving is going away but having stuff ready and saying goodbye. Running away is, like, running away from your problems and hoping they’ll change and you won’t.” He looked up at her, eyes meeting hers in the raising moonlight. “I thought you were supposed to be dumb and full of yourself. Now I see you’re not as dumb, at least.” “Hey, thanks! I knew you’d… hey, wait a minute! I’m not… whatever you said.”  He couldn’t help but grin at her, teasingly. “You don’t remember what I said, do you?” “Well, forgive me for having a throbbing in my tunnel and not feeling good about it!” she shot back. He raised his hooves placatingly. “Whatever, dude. Look, I didn’t bring you here to get my clam cracked open. And you’re too young for me to notice if you did try that other thing you’re thinking about,” she winked at him and he smiled back. “I really like you, you’re the first real pony I’ve met since I got here. I honestly thought I’d get along with you the least, given your reputation. Well, get on with it, professor.” She got up and took a couple steps, her hind legs tentative until she was sure it wasn’t going to hurt to move. She walked away a little ways and stopped, waving him over to her. He, on the other hoof, did ache and would for a while. Rainbow at least looked regretful as he approached and sat down by a pool of water.  “This water’s been here for about seven years. I know because I found it when I came here to visit my friend, Fluttershy, when I was three. Before I got to her cottage I crashed right here and my head landed under the water. It was a bad crash when it happened because,” she pointed to a pile of rocks, “that’s where I actually landed. He looked at the distance and spaced it to about half the length of a hoofball field. He looked at her with doubt.  “Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a good crash. I broke my wings in six places on my right, dislocating it, and two places on my left. I twisted my right leg almost around, my left was under me but I was told it was bad. I scratched my eye across the ground, split my head and lip, and could have drowned if this water wasn’t special. Go on, take a sip.” He looked at his reflection in the water and brought his lips down to slurp some, but his lips passed through and he flinched back, looking at her while still leaving over it. She gestured confidently and he looked back at it, then dipped his head in. There was a warm rush of air across his face and he looked down on a city that was shocking to his senses.  He was peeking through a hole in the sky down on a city of metal and stone that rivaled most of Equestria’s major cities combined in size. From horizon to horizon the city sprawled and lived. Vehicles traveled from one end of the city to another in lines like ants after some food. He was pulled back and set on the ground beside Rainbow. “See that?” she pointed to the portal, “it’s a magical portal to the future!” He looked up at her. “How do you know? It could be another world or something.” “How do you think I got fixed up?” she opened her wings and turned to him, letting him get close. “Go on, touch my arm.” He reached up and poked the bone that ran the length of the outside of her wing. His brow furrowed and he did it again. “It’s not right, there’s a polymer there, I think. But,” he took her wing in both his little hooves and pulled himself to her, looking her wing from front to back. “There’s no incision,” he put his ear against her wing and moved it, “no mechanics or clockwork.” “Yeah, something called carbon nanofiber holds them together now. At least where they broke. It’s as strong as mythril, light as a feather, and channels magic just like a normal bone would,” she pulled her wing from him. “Wait, I wanna see more. How’s it connect to the bone, is it actually a replacement? How much did they need to make to,” he gasped and looked back at the portal, “it could be the next step, nay, the next hundred steps in the future of engineering technologies! C’mon, I’ll go through and you follow!” “Wait up there, little buddy,” she said picking him up and tapping on the surface, a resounding metal clunk was heard. “No can do. Ya see, there’s something about something that means only one of us can go through at a time. Something about displaced matters, or something.” “Ohh,” he nodded. “Conservation of matter and transferral of matter across distances through the aether’s medium. You went there, so something of equal mass had to come here.” “Yeah! That, only I fell in and a ton of air got through here. Well, maybe not a ton, but some. That coulda been really dangerous, ya know,” she tapped her chest, “end of the world stuff.” “Yeah, I know all about that, but maybe they have a way to fix it?” Rainbow looked aside and to the portal. “You know it’d be pretty tough to get a bunch of stuff through that, not to mention who knows what would be pulled in when they came through for both sides. “We’re, like, a thousand miles up. What if a filly like Scootaloo got sucked into their world? Not happening.” “Then, how’d they fix you?” She shrugged. “However it happened, there had to be something awesome going on. Once they put me in the tube thing I went to sleep and woke up near the portal. They were nice creatures, like those humans in the comics going around, and they told me about the danger of travel between worlds.  “They didn’t give me anything besides a warning that if I came back without world saving reasons that they’d seal the thing off forever.” “Woah, wait… so you went to another reality and just came back and didn’t go back! What the hell, mare?!” “Hey, when an alien race tells you not to do something, you do it!” He bit his lip. “And don’t think of going through. They set it up so the thing can only be used once every couple days. You used the pass through thing by sticking your snout where it doesn’t belong,” she booped his nose and giggled when he scrunched it.  “Fine, I’ll leave the awesome alternate reality of the future alone. But if I find my own?” he asked hopefully getting a shake of her head. “Fine! Keep all the fun stuff. Is that all you wanted to do, show me awesomeness and tell me to fuck off?” “Ha, no. Lemme tell you a little story about myself and that portal,” they sat across from one another, “I was about eight and lost a race. Now I know that it happens, then it was the end of my world. I ran away, like you’re doing, and hopped in. I glided to the city and landed on a street. I was the center of attention and they all looked at me like the most awesome mare I am.  “I was arrested within ten minutes of flying after cars, they called them, short for carts, I guess. I was taken to their jail, in a building higher than Mount Canterhorn. They didn’t talk to me for a while day, making sure I got dry oats, water, and fruit before they took me to a talking room.” “An interrogation room?” “No, it was like a shrink’s office. Some guy walks in with two of their guards watching me and starts talking about rules and responsibilty. Then he asked me why I broke the rules and,” she hesitated, but the look of attention she was getting spurred her on, “and I told him and cried about it like a filly. “He held me in the most comfortable way in his arms I’ve ever been touched and they have these hands that are way better than a minotaur’s. They’re softer and smaller, and he scratched my mane and back until I fell asleep.” “This isn’t a story where you get laid, is it?” Rainbow blushed a light purple in her cheeks. “No way! That’s not even funny,” she glared at him for a few seconds, but stopped when his cheeky smile remained. “Okay, well, so, this guy wakes me up and puts me on his couch and we start talking. The guards take turns changing shifts and I keep talking. “The sun set and I went to sleep on that couch, but when I woke up I went for a walk to my room and did some exercises, then when I went back to the shrink’s office he was there with breakfast that had hay and oatmeal and dried fruits. It was… oh, yeah. Well, he taught me that it’s okay to be scared and to need space away, but that if you run from your problems, they’ll catch up to you. “I realized he was right, and that if I stayed like I’d thought of doing, how many lives would change because I was gone, but I’d be the same me that lost the race. Would it really be worth changing everyone else so much just to feel better?” Snickers shook his head.  “Exactly, so I came back and went right to this head doctor I heard of back in Cloudsdale and learned a ton about feelings and how to help other ponies not feel like they’re any less awesome than they really are. And that’s pretty awesome, helping other ponies be awesome.” He sighed and looked up to the stars. “I just… feel so bad about what happened. You said you’re friends with Fluttershy?” “Yeah, we go way back.” “I met her today and she’s totally cool. We had a serious talk about how I feel about stuff and what I can do to make it better. Honestly, I don’t think Rarity’s a good mom.” Rainbow hopped back and covered her mouth. “Oh my gosh, I just heard about you from Fluttershy! What’re you doing out here, why’re you running away, seriously? You didn’t hurt her, did you?” she asked, harassing his personal space.  “I put Sweetie in the Hospital, alright? There,” he said standing and lookin down her muzzle into her eyes. “I just ruined her life because I’m bad luck and I have to leave before I hurt another friend.” Rainbow backed down first. “Look, I get it. But, what if she’s okay and you run away. She’ll spend the rest of her life thinking you ran away because you hurt her, not because you hurt her. Given your track record the past couple days, which do you think she’d think?” He took a step back and lowered his head. “I guess she's think that I hurt her and ran away because I was mean, and not that it was an accident.” “Exactly, and I’m a mare; I know that I’d have trouble trusting any colt after something like that happened. It can take years to get over some pain, longer than an injury. What happened to her that got you so riled up?” He kicked the soil and grass again. “I spilled shampoo into the toilet and she slipped and broke her tail.” Rainbow flinched. “Ouch.” “Yeah, that’s why I can’t go back. It’s too much, what if she hates me?” Rainbow rolled her eyes and placed both forehooves on his shoulders. “Look, no matter what happens, remember that I know she’d never hate you unless you did it on purpose. And even then, it’d have to be something pretty bad to get her that angry. I know her and her friends; they’re cool as long as you are. Just go see her, it’s worth it so you don’t feel as bad in the future.” He sighed and nodded. “Which way do I go?” She flew around him and picked him up, taking him in a much more relaxed way on the pathway directly into the hospital. He started trotting off and she caught up. “What?” “Good luck and be yourself. I’ll be along in an hour, I’ve gotta make sure Twilight knows about this and then we can get Pinkie Pie over here too. Hey, I didn’t break your brain, did I? Cuz this’ the perfect place for that to happen.” They’re all friends. They’re all here, and they know one another. I didn’t expect this, and now I have to adapt to a situation I wasn’t aware of. At least two of them are awesome, Pinkie is… those eyes, he shuddered, and Rarity’s my mother figure. That leaves Twilight; the enigma. I can only hope she isn’t crazy. That’d hit to close to home.