Rarity's Colt: Snickers's Harmony Trials

I woke up this time to a gentle prodding to my side while loud laughter echoed around me. Like, crazy laughter from a loony howling at the moonie. That sounded better in my head, but it was crazed. I opened my eyes and looked at the floor of clouds. I blinked at them and looked aside to Fluttershy who was looking at me, but there was a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

“F-fluttersh-shy? Did you t-tell him yet?!” Rainbow’s raspy voice choked out between bouts of laughter. I realized I was standing on a cloud, in a cloud house, and did what any colt would do in that situation. I laughed and started bouncing on the surface without a care. It was like standing on a marshmallow, it bounced back with each hop and step, and for some reason Rainbow couldn’t stop laughing.

Even Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof and I’d finally had enough. “Okay,” I giggled and hopped to Fluttershy, “what’s the big deal? Why’s Rainbow so laughy?”

“Ha! ‘Big’ deal?!” Rainbow cackled and grabbed some cloud to cover her head while she rolled side to side.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at Fluttershy for an answer. “W-well, you see, Snickers… to walk on clouds, typically a creature needs to be a pegasi or…” she covered her mouth and closed her eyes, snerking and shaking.

“Or… what? Magic on my hooves, or something?” I asked.

Fluttershy shook her head and sent her lovely mane swaying side to side while she inhaled to control herself. “Or… they need… wings?” she giggled and covered her mouth again. “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, too. It’s just…”

I looked over my shoulder at my back. “Oh, c’mon! What the… are you fucking serious?!”

Fluttershy finally lost it for the first time and laughed with her angelic voice that almost, kind of, in a distant corner of my mind, made my situation better. Rainbow, on the other hoof…

“Bee wings! Gyahh, I’ve never… how?! Aaa!” She screamed and fell through the clouds at my horrible plight. My tiny little wings buzzed when I got angry and I was so embarrassed to have them. Worse yet, I actually got lift and hovered from the cloud floor. Fluttershy saw me and ran from the room, I still think I broke her.

I was alone for almost half an hour before Fluttershy returned, a small tissue box under her right wing while her left wing held one that she blew her nose into. “Snickers, I’m so sorry about that… I didn’t mean to laugh at you, I hope you’ll forgive me, but it was just so funny watching you fly and I haven’t laughed like that in so many years,” she hung her head. “I hope you can forgive me, it wasn’t right for me to do that.”

She had been laughing, then I guess realized she’d been laughing and started crying, being so emotional and having feelings for other people… whatever that’s called. Symphony, or something… whatever it is, she has it in bucket loads.

I hopped over to her, because how could I not abuse the marshmallow rebounding bounces I got? “I forgive you, and Rainbow, if she ever comes back from laughing herself to death. I think I should talk to both of you about this little trip I’ve been on… do you know where she is?”

Fluttershy excused herself and literally dove into the cloud and swam through it until she was out of sight. Fucking blew my mind, I didn’t know that was possible and I wanted to try it, but the risk wasn’t worth the reward without parental supervision around the eternal pool I stood on. Fluttershy walked through a cloud wall a minute later.

“She’s right behind me, she’s a little better, but don’t be hurt if she laughs, still. If you need a hug, I have plenty to go around.”

“Thanks, but I know how to get Rainbow in the right mood for this talk I need to have with the both of you.” Rainbow walked through the wall and snorted when she looked at me, but I didn’t waste any time. “Scootaloo and I were almost raped.”

Both mares were serious, funny time was over. “Who did it? I’ll geld them and drop them in a river,” Rainbow threatened while Fluttershy rushed to me and hugged me so tightly I could feel all my problems being squeezed away. Contrary to popular belief, a strong hug doesn’t always cause asphyxiation… unless it involves a member of the Apple family. Then say your prayers that somepony else notices you dying in their arms.

“Oh, Snickers, I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Did they do anything to you, did they violate your body in any way? Do you feel you need a bath or washing? Because if you do I have to take you to the hospital first so the doctors--”

“No, no. It didn’t happen, close, but… okay, this is kinda hard to talk about…”

“Take your time, champ. There’s no rush, just let us know as much as you can. Any details the ponies had that can help me identify them would be great. Oh,” Rainbow corrected herself when Fluttershy’s wing poked her leg, “and remember that we’re here for you and will love you no matter what. It wasn’t your fault, or Scootaloo’s.

“Um, speaking of… where is the little skamp?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. Probably lost to the void between dreams. Ya see,” I said when Rainbow and Fluttershy looked at me, “Harmony’s still messing with me, and now you’re in it, too.”

Rainbow groaned and fell onto her back. “I knew it was too easy. Twilight just had to magic the place up and sprinkle her magic into Harmony’s whatever.”

Fluttershy offered me a tissue that I took out of courtesy. “Rainbow,” Fluttershy asked, “what are you saying? That we’re in a Harmonic Vision? Snickers already had one, I haven’t heard of a pony having a second so soon afterwards.”

“Well,” Rainbow said tossing a ball of cloud into the air, “she said she forced it. Everypony with close ties to Snickers is gonna have a turn, I guess, and Sweetie was the first to wake up an hour ago. Then Silver, Apple Bloom, and then I woke up here with Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy hugged me again. “When you appeared, I was so happy to see you since it’s been a whole day since I last saw you. Rainbow was telling me about what happened to you at my cottage and we woke up here… anyway, seeing you were all right was so nice, especially after everything you’ve been through.”

“Well, that’s nothing compared to the stuff that’s happened over the last, however long.”

“It’s been about two hours, Snickers,” Rainbow said rolling to her hooves and walking to me, “ two hours and everypony’s worried.

“Well, let me tell you what’s been going on and you can make your own judgements on my fucking day, alright?” I snapped. I felt heavy blue eyes looking down on me and I whimpered. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy… I’ve been under so much stress and I’ve cried a lot since all this started… I’m just getting frayed, ya know?”

Fluttershy’s gaze relaxed and she hugged me into her chest fluff and down. So warm and fluffy. I need more of this, I told myself before I started from the beginning; me and Sweetie in the cabin through the grey stallion telling me I’m wrong.

Rainbow was pacing, Fluttershy was rocking with me held to her. I was so comfy and starting to droze, then Rainbow shouted with an ‘a-ha’ moment. “I’ve got it. In the cabin you hurt your muzzle and got bucked in the guts.”

“And I almost died, thank for reminding me,” I said with a tiny yawn.

“And in the hospital you were with two fillies that cared for you in different ways, right?” Rainbow continued.

I shook my head a little. “Rainbow, if this is gonna turn into some coming of age crap, I’m gonna puke.”

“No, shut up and listen, sport. Your first day here, in Ponyville, you got into a fight and hurt those fillies, right?”

My ears perked up and I looked at Rainbow. “Yeah, but not their leg…”

“Oh, I may have an answer,” Fluttershy cut in. “According to myth, a broken left leg means the beginning of something new and stronger. A broken right leg means a stronger future ahead of you.” Fluttershy looked expectantly to Rainbow.

Rainbow was still pacing. “Exactly, and Silver admitted her love for Scoots, and you,” she winked her eye at me. Just had to clarify what was winking! “So, you got away safe enough with Apple Bloom, the filly that you feel safest with. Then you help Scootaloo when you both have the chance to knock shoes,” Rainbow giggled and dodges a ball of could Fluttershy tossed at her with her very prehensile pink tail.

“I wouldn’t have, I told you that,” I said.

“Just teasing, you handled the whole thing like an adult. You were awesome, but that leads us to the stallions that Scootaloo took out in a most radical way,” Rainbow pumped her hoof while Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “You both got out without being hurt, and now you’re here with us… so, I’m thinking I may have an idea about what’s going on.

“Snickers, I think tha--” she screamed just then and exploded into a bouquet of flowers that fell onto the floor.

Fluttershy and I held one another, but she was able to fly us away from the colorful flowers. “What just happened, Fluttershy?” I asked.

“There will be no assistance for the outcome of our trials.”

“The conundrum must be absorbed.”

“Nay, the conundrum is a conundrum that must be purged.”

“Both of you are wrong, brothers. We must accept the conundrum as the conundrum is, guide the conundrum to become one with the herd.”

“I make the rules on balance, the conundrum will not be allowed.”

“Nay, Order demands the conundrum become one with us.”

“He must be vacated.”

“Accepted.”

“Adapted.”

“Discarded.”

“Accepted.” “Adapted.” “Discarded.” “Accepted.” “Adapted.” “Discarded.” “Accepted. Adapted. Discarded. Accepted. Adapted. Discarded. AcceptedAdaptedDiscardedAccepted AdaptedDiscarded.

“Enough!” Fluttershy shouted while holding me as I trembled, curled into a tight ball from the ethereal voices speaking over and at one another about me.

“A representative.” The voices said together.

“Whatever you are, you’re scaring this adorable, precious little colt. You should feel ashamed of yourselves. Why are you acting so mean, and where is Rainbow Dash?”

“The representative is no longer with us.”

“She has returned to the corporeal realm, where the representatives reside.”

“We have no feelings, we cannot be one way or another.”

“We demand the conundrum, the conundrum will balance the scales after our choice.”

“Yes. We agree.” “Yes. We agree.” The others said together.

Fluttershy covered me in a cocoon of wings. “That won’t be happening, busters,” she shouted at the empty air. “You can go away and not bother him, or any of us, ever again. We aren’t some toys for you to play with; we’re ponies and we have rights. Snickers has rights, the right to live and make his own choices; and you can’t have him.”

“The representative holds true to her element.”

“What will we do, harm must not befall the representatives.”

“We shall take him, perhaps?”

“Harm must not befall the representatives.”

“We shall move her to the corporeal realm.”

“She holds him within her bounds. They will go, the Vision will have to begin anew.”

“Representative, relinquish the conundrum.”

Fluttershy held me a little tighter. “No.” She spoke with so much determination I felt like they cowered back, if they could have. “Let us go, wake us up, send us away… I won’t let you have Snickers. The way you’re acting and treating all of us, you’re just big, ghost-bullies! You’re lucky I don’t know where your mothers are, or I’d have it in me to tell them of your attitude.”

“We have no beginning.”

“We have no end.”

“We have always been and always will be.”

“We are balance.”

“We are Order.”

“We are Discordance.”

“We are Harmony.”

They fell silent and so did Fluttershy.

“The representative will not relinquish the conundrum without coaxing.”

“We know her nature. Sadness, anxiety, worry. We will help her relinquish the conundrum.”

“Yes. We shall.” “Yes. We shall.”

I don’t know why, but I pushed my way from under her protective wing and hopped to the center of the room to challenge them. “You’re wrong, fart breaths! Fluttershy is more than that, she’s kind, loving, sweet, and pretty. She’s a great listener and knows how to make me feel more accepted as a pony than anything any of you could ever do!

“You’re those nasty ponies that keep hounding me and my friends, aren’t you? You’re the ones that tried to rape two foals to make me conform, aren’t you?!” I shouted to the walls around me, looking for one of them to pop out. “How do you think anything you’re doing is going to make me--”

Fluttershy

Snickers was shouting at the ghost voices as the brave little stallion he is. Then he stopped mid-sentence and fell over. I was so scared for him that I leapt and wrapped him in my wings again, but he was cold. He wasn’t breathing or moving, I lay him on the floor and pressed my ear to his chest.

Sitting up quickly, I began chest compressions, which aren’t the same for every creature. I’m technically a veterinarian in every way, I just don’t have time to pursue my doctorate. Modern pony physiology simple enough, I just had to focus and count as I compressed. I wasn’t going to let this colt pass from this world like so many of my animal friends.

“What have you done?” I asked while counting. “Why are you doing this to Snickers, to all of us? What did he ever do to you, or your stupid balance?”

“The conundrum--”

“His… name… is… Snickers!” I shouted and my wings flared open in a traditional challenge posture. “I won’t stop until he’s back with me, with us. None of us will. Stop being meanies, and leave us… alone,” I stopped to breathe for him, “we don’t want you with us if this is how you really are.”

“The conundrum has perished, give up your pursuits, representative.”

“There is no hope for the conundrum.”

“Balance will be maintained.”

I… I’m sorry, but I lost my temper and said some very naughty things after they said that.

“Fuck your balance and your dumb… meanie, stupid element!” I conjured my element necklace and tore it from my neck, pushing it into the cloud so it would fall to the ground. I went back to Snickers, keeping him alive for all I was worth.

“Representative?! Recall the focus to yourself at once!”

“No! Not until you stop being so… fucking mean to us! You’re the meanest, worst, most awful things ever, and if you won’t let Snickers live, then I don’t want anything to do with you. And I’ll take the others with me when I get home. We’ll stop being the bearers and you’ll have to find a new way to stop the next threat to the world.”

“The representative is conniving.”

“Ruthless.”

“Masterful in her treatment of the situation. Harmony approves.”

“...Order approves.”

“Discordance approves.”

Snickers

I gasped for air like it was the first time after drowning, my limbs ached and my head throbbed with each heartbeat. Even my heart felt sore, so did my ribs, like somepony was playing my bones like a xylophone. I smelled a dozen scents I hadn’t noticed before I guess I passed out, some were from the mare that picked me up and held me in a close hug. I tasted fruit and something creamy, like icing, or maybe a cupcake on my lips and in my mouth.

“Oh, Snickers, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Fluttershy said twisting me gently in a hug that made me giggle. She peppered my head with compassionate kisses and hugged me again, praising me for being so strong and fighting for her, even though I didn’t have to.

“The conundrum has passed this trial, now what?”

“We shall move to the endgame.”

“Yes, then we shall see where the conundrum stands.”

I looked up to Fluttershy and then moved quickly, kissing her on the side of her muzzle. She giggled and looked down on me, then we both laughed at the buzzing my wings were making before darkness took me again.