//------------------------------// // Heading West // Story: Snickers: On the Road // by Mocha Star //------------------------------// Snickers smiled at his reflection in the window, the sound of steady click-clacking the only thing on his mind as the other foals slept  on their seats on the train in the waning day. Laxxie had her snout pressed against the window on the other side of the car, sniffing and huffing hot wet air against the glass, her timber wolf side showing as she tried to sniff as often as she could.  He smirked. Snickers looked at Silver Spoon and mentally thanked her, again, for suggesting taking the train instead of running across the plains like he had thought to do. They had made it almost ten miles from town before they came across a waystation and the train was close behind them. They all bought tickets and hopped on. Gil chirped quietly in his sleep, curled around the egg, as he seemed to always be doing, at the far side of the car. It was clear the gryphon didn’t like traveling with them, but he was certainly dedicated. Snickers looked at the passing terrain in the shadow of the moon’s light as they passed through White Tail Woods, and sighed. Speaking softly to his reflection, Snickers had a one sided conversation. “I can’t believe it went wrong so fast… first mom, then daddy, Twilight… I had Spike, I guess, but that’s not enough to stay. I’d have had to deal with all that nonsense, and I couldn’t deal with that. “But, maybe it’s all over now and everypony is over themselves? What if mom’s freaking out and missing me… after she told me she…” he looked angrily at his own reflection and clopped a hoof to the glass. “No, she hates me and said it, too. I can’t go back there for them. Someday, with foals of my own, with my mares, I’ll go back. But, not to see the family I thought I’d made, but for my girls.” Diamond snorted awake when the train hit a bump and looked around, confused. “Are we there yet?” she asked suddenly, then realized where she was and what she was doing. She reached up and adjusted her tiara, now smaller and slightly tighter-fitting than her old one.  “Oh, yeah. Snickers?” She turned around and nuzzled the colt, “Are you okay? You aren’t sleeping with us.” Snickers chuffed. “Just thinking about Ponyville.” Diamond was about to speak when the door to their car opened, filling the room with loud clattering that woke everycreature. “Hey, everypony,” Cress said as she closed the door behind herself.  “Cress?” Silver asked as she adjusted her glasses and yawned demurely. “I thought we left you behind.” The filly grinned, showing her sharp teeth. “Nope, I caught up and just got onto the car earlier. You were all asleep so I didn’t wanna bother you, I hope that’s okay.” She looked confident, but her twitching ear and tensing hind leg muscles showed her anxiety. Diamond frowned at the filly, then looked back to Snickers. “Whatever, Cress, just get a seat and don’t bother us.” Cress nodded once and moved to a seat by the door, crawling onto it with a content sigh, like she was relaxing after a long workout. Snickers addressed the young night pony. “Where were you all day? And, why are you showing up now?” Cress yawned loudly and shook her head. “I’m super tired from dodging crazy weather all day. I went for a fly and got stuck in three different storms, saw Discord, and did my duty as an Equestrian citizen by reporting him to the Royal Guard. I had to make a statement, then when I tried to find you all, you were already leaving the town. “I followed you from up high, riding the easy currents, just in case you were trying to run from something. Then you got on this train and I landed nearer to the front and got on before it left.” She yawned again and laid her head down on her crossed forelegs. “Now, I’m here. And tired.” Snickers shrugged. “Get some sleep, we’ve got a long couple days ahead until we get to the junction. We have to get off when the train reaches Sour Patch’s Farms to head into the Undiscovered West.” Cress’s head shot up and her mouth worked silently for a moment. “What?! Why’re we heading there? It’s undiscovered for a reason. It’s dangerous and not colonized by ponies.” Silver stood up and began stretching her legs. “Because, it’s the only place the Ministry of Foal Services won’t think to look for us, and it’s a good place to start exploring something new. Maybe our stallion will find his mark his first day, and maybe you will too.” Cress glanced back to her blank flank. “I’m not too worried about my mark, especially if it’s related to some monster attacking my friends while we’re asleep and I’m the only survivor.” Snickers rolled his eyes. “That’s not gonna happen. We’ll sleep in shifts. There’s enough of us to each get a full night’s sleep, and we have a born fighter with us. Right, Gil?” Gil growled quietly. “Don’t lump me in with you guys. I’m taking this little one with me right back to Gryphonvale as soon as it hatches.” Kiwe lit his horn and pulled a snack from his bag. “I am sure you will choose to stay, as you will be too far away.” Gil snapped his beak. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Kiki. I’ll catch a good current and be back in Equestria within a day from wherever your leader takes us.” Snickers looked around. “Who’s the leader?” he innocently asked. Every eye was on him. “What, you think I’m the leader?” he laughed. “I’m just running from my problems, based on what a crazy mare told me she experienced. I’m no leader.” The rest of the creatures smirked as one and Snickers turned his attention to the passing trees again.  … Sitting on the bench seat, Snickers steadied himself as the train lurched and slowed down, nearing a stop; Saddle Junction, if Snickers remembered correctly from the map he’d looked at while walking between cars to stretch his legs. Silver and Diamond were helpful in pointing out many places they’d have to visit when they returned to Equestria, especially to see what changes may have happened. “Like, I don’t think we’ll be gone that long. Those ponies in Ponyville can go jump in a lake during winter, but the rest of Equestria… Snickers,” Silver whined, “can’t we go to Manehattan before we leave?” Diamond had scolded Silver about following the stallion’s lead and the grey filly pouted, reluctantly agreeing. Watching the end of the White Tail Woods was sobering, but Snickers was ready to move on, like his family had already done. Not even Sweetie Belle had tried to stop him from leaving, only having given him a cape to remember their bond by. Snickers looked at the others in the car, noting it was still only their group as few ponies trusted a car with a batpony and a gryphon in it. Snickers frowned when he remembered hearing a mare murmur to her small herd that very fact as they rushed past. “Snickers, what’s wrong?” Silver asked, moving from her seat to sit by him, looking up at his higher position from the floor. Snickers shook his head. “Just glad to be leaving ponies like these behind,” he said and pointed at the station they were stopping at with two stallions ready to board. His fillies looked out the window, then back to Snickers. “You know, not all ponies are bad,” Diamond softly said. Snickers puffed some air from his muzzle. “I know that, Diamond, but too many are. Maybe a few months away will help, maybe we’ll find a new life with new creatures and can come back when we have…” he blushed and looked at the cushion he was sitting on, prodding it with his forehooves. Silver squeaked and Diamond began to grin. “Are you saying you wanna have a family with us?” Diamond asked the bashful colt. Kiwe clearly chuckled throatily while Cress let out a chirping sound. Snickers looked between all the creatures in the car and felt his ears burning from the blood rushing to them. He opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out, spurring the fillies on and making them titter to one another. “Snickers likes us, Diamond,” Silver said, teasingly. “He wants to date us, and marry us,” Diamond sing-songed. Both fillies were on the floor now and leaned against one another, looking up at Snickers, who did his best to not look at them. “Snickers and his fillies, sitting in a tree…” they sang in unison. “A foal in her and a foal in me,” they ad libbed and nearly fell over giggling while Snickers dropped to his side and covered his face with his forelegs.  “I didn’t say anything about that!” Snickers defended. “You did not say anything to the contrary though, brother.” Kiwe opined. Snickers lifted his foreleg enough to shoot Kiwe a scornful glance. “Traitor,” he mumbled. Cress was grinning and got up, moving closer to Gil. “Hey, Gil, why don’t you take a break from the egg? I have fluff and can hold it while--” “Get lost, bug eater,” Gil groused. “I don’t need your help.” Cress shrugged and stepped back before turning and moving to Laxxie. “Hey, timberpony, what’s shakin’?” Laxxie tapped the floor. “The train. Don’t you feel it?” Snickers snerked and the fillies laughed a little more, hugging one another to keep from falling over. Kiwe reached into his saddlebag and pulled out an apple that he set by his side. “I feel the need to eat, who else wishes for a treat?” Kiwe asked. Nopony answered, so the zony took a big bite from the apple and wiped his furry brown lips.  “Hm, always the best apples in the land, I will miss them because they are quite grand.” “All aboard!” The conductor announced, her voice muffled through the walls, but still clearly audible.  Diamond and Silver got onto Snickers’s bench and pushed him to sitting up so they could all fit, then nuzzled him. “You’re gonna be a good daddy, I just know it,” Silver said. Diamond agreed with a soft kiss to his cheek that let her know he was still blushing, just not as bright as before. It made her happy to know he cared for her, and a little funny in a weird way when she thought about having a foal inside of her body. Diamond realized that throughout her entire life, the thought of being pregnant hadn’t actually crossed her mind, and she decided to dedicate several minutes to think about what it would be like. The train lurched and suddenly the idea of being pregnant scared her and her mind began to race. The thought of her body swelling until she looked fat, the way she’d be even more emotional, how lazy she'd become, the burden she'd be to their trip, and the possibility of being left by Snickers for being useless made her want to hyperventilate.  “Silver, I need to talk to you in private,” she said, hurriedly. Silver nodded and followed Diamond to the empty side of the car. She sat close to Diamond and listened intently. Diamond looked at the far side of the car with the others and her eyes latched onto the back of Snickers’s head. His ears twitched and she felt butterflies in her belly. “Silver, what if I’m not a good mom? What if I miscarry?” She asked in a rushed, hushed tone. “What if I’m not good enough when Snickers mounts me? “What if I fall over, or he does… what if he doesn’t last long and I laugh, and hurt his feelings? Silver, what if he leaves me before we even have...” she glanced back to the colt she loved, “... sex. What will I do, hundreds of miles from home, lost and alone in a weird part of the world? What if-” Silver pressed her lips to Diamond’s, silencing the filly and sending waves of lightning through the pink filly’s body. Silver broke the kiss, her tongue darting out to lick Diamond’s lips for an instant as she backed away. “You’ll never be alone as long as I’m with you, sister.” Silver admitted and licked her lips. Diamond shivered in place as her mind tried to make sense of what had just happened. Her body was suddenly ready for whatever anypony wanted to do to her and she had the urgent desire to touch herself right there and then. She swallowed hard and looked at where Snickers still sat, the silhouette of the colt against the night sky making her ache for him. She noticed a funny feeling on her tail Diamond stood up with shaky hind legs to find a wet spot. She began blushing brightly as she sat back down, regretting the action immediately. “Silver…” Diamond whispered to the filly that was giggling into her hoof. “Don’t laugh at me! I came because of what you did. Get me something to clean up with!” Silver got up and adjusted her glasses. “Be right back, sexy,” she said and turned quickly, swatting Diamond with her aromatic tail. Diamond inhaled the scent of Silver Spoon as the filly sashayed several paces with her tail waving enticingly. Silver returned to a normal walk when she reached the middle of the car and quickly went into her own saddlebags. She shared a few words with Snickers and rushed back with a small cloth in her mouth. “Here, Diamond, I got a bunch of these from my room,” Silver said, passing one to Diamond. Diamond looked at it and was glad her cheeks were already pink. “Yes, it’s super absorbent for when I’d do stuff at night, or whenever. My mama got them for me because the help was complaining of the mess I made, and I had to drink so much water every morning, and…” Diamond stood up and Silver moved to block the view as Diamond patted the magical cloth under and against her tail, then dropped it on the floor and stepped on it a couple times. Both fillies were glad the mess was as clean as it was going to be and Silver rushed to the nearest window to toss the used rag out to get rid of as much evidence as they could. Diamond hugged Silver tightly. “Thanks, but please don’t do that again. I almost lost it, and it’s not even that time of the year.” Silver nibbled Diamond’s neck and giggled as Diamond’s tail flagged. Diamond gave Silver a shove back with a frustrated look.  Silver reached up and booped Diamond. “It got you to stop worrying about your ‘what-ifs’, didn’t it?” Diamond glanced at the carpet where she’d made her mark. “And now I’m worried about what’ll happen if you kiss me like that again.” “Then don’t worry about stuff like that, Diamond, and I won't kiss you when you're panicking,” Silver Spoon advised. “You’re the perfect herd-sister and alpha mare for our herd.” Diamond’s eyes widened and she grinned widely. “Y-you’re giving me alpha mare?” When Silver nodded, Diamond lunged into a hug that knocked them both to the floor. They giggled and shared a small kiss, then got up and stood side by side. “Bump, bump, sugar-lump, rump!” They tittered and walked back to Snickers. They sat side by side as their colt looked them over.  “You two sure are happy, what’d you talk about?” he asked, knowing they wouldn’t tell him. The fillies shared a smile and then looked to Snickers. “Just filly stuff that colts don’t need to know about.” Diamond said. When Snickers yawned and smacked his lips, she added, “C’mon, you’ve been up all day and you’ve been through a lot.”  “Take a nap and we’ll watch over you,” Silver said as she took Snickers by his withers and helped lay him down across the bench with both filly’s sitting to his sides thanks to a little shimmying. Snickers rested his head on Diamond’s leg and inhaled deeply, exhaling a long hum that made Diamond’s eyes go wide with shock. Diamond looked fearfully at Silver, who just mouthed ‘don’t worry’ to her. Snickers smacked his lips. “You smell nice, Diamond. Like flowers and honey,” he said, then was asleep before he even realized it, a smile on his face as Diamond watched him. Silver covered her mouth with both hooves to stifle her giggles while Diamond turned a shade of hot pink. Cress gave a fanged grin and a wink to Diamond while Kiwe pretended to be solely focused on the last bites of his apple. Gil grumbled to himself, “You ponies are all weird.”