Rarity carried Snickers towards the Ponyville Spa practically prancing as she went. “Oh, Snickers. You’re going to love this little time we have together. It’s actually something Fluttershy insisted I accept as a gift and that I take you. To be honest,” Rarity set Snickers on the ground and let him trot beside her, “she was quite vocal about you.

“My mistreatment of you has certainly been documented and spoken of between my circle of friends. When you were unable to speak, Fluttershy shouted some sense into me and later, as means of apology, and against all my wishes and insistence she purchased two certificates and mailed them to me.

“So, naturally there was no way I could refuse in any polite manner, so I had to accept. Why, can you imagine how hurt Fluttershy would have been -keep up, darling, you’re falling behind- if I returned her gifts through the mail? It would, quite possibly, destroy the young mare. I, for one, won’t play a part in such an act.

“So, what would you like to do at the spa first?”

Snickers’s ear swiveled and he looked at Rarity. “Um… I dunno. Can you pick for me?”

“Only if you rephrase that into a sensible question.”

Snickers groaned. “Fine. Mother, I am uncertain as to what a colt, such as I, would like and would prefer if you chose for me in this instance.”

Rarity nodded once. “Much better. I will choose what will work best for you. Why, by the time you’re done, you may just wish to go once a week with me on principal. Oh, we’re nearly there!” Rarity pranced on the tip of her hooves for a pace. “Oh, I so need some pampering and, if I know my little prince, he does too!”

Snickers leaned back and sneered at the kissy face Rarity made. “Stop doing that. I’m not a foal, I’m practically a stallion and can do things myself without your help.”

“Of course you can, my little prince; however, even the mightiest gay stallion likes to be doted upon by mares once in a while.”

“I’m not gay,” Snickers replied sourly.

“Whatever you choose, I’ll love you regardless.”

“I’m not gay.” He said more sternly.

“You’re a bit too young to make that consideration. Have you seen some colt you might want to be close to? Being one way or another isn’t as bad as it once was, you know.”

Fuming, Snickers shouted, “I’m not gay!” He opened his eyes and blushed at the entire market that was halted in its daily motion, all the ponies staring at him curiously.

“Nevermind him, everypony!” Rarity shouted. “He’s just a young colt, finding his way in the world.”

The crowd resumed their tasks and duties as though he hadn’t shouted loud enough to be heard by every single pony in two blocks. He hurried to catch back up to Rarity and took his place to her side and slightly back.

“Now, how do you feel about losing your temper just now?” Rarity eventually asked.

Snickers looked up from his moving hooves and his muzzle impacted her rump sending him back onto his own. He rubbed his snout and looked at her. “Stupid and embarrassed,” Snickers eventually replied.

Rarity lifted him back onto three of his hooves so he could still care for his nose with one. She turned to face him and pulled a small cloth from somewhere he didn’t see and dabbed his nose. “No blood is good blood,” she nodded with an approving hum, “and my little prince shan’t harm himself on my ample rump, if I have anything to say about it.”

Snickers, just over his embarrassment blush blushed again. “That sounds a bit…”

Rarity blinked and thought over her last statement and her tail swished. “Oh, my! You know I didn’t mean anything of the sort!” She stood over him and lifted her muzzle. “A lady doesn’t speak in such a way, especially to a colt that will interpret everything into that way, regardless of the meaning.”

Snickers looked up and craned his neck. “Mom, do you have to do that lady crap? You’re not a lady, okay?”

Rarity stepped back and placed a hoof to her chest. “Surely you jest. I’d have thought one of your herd mates would have told you.”

“I’m not in a herd anymore, mom.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and turned to start walking. “Herd-mates, two words. Friends in a group, or a herd of mates. Besides, ‘herd’ is more of a guideline than a rule.”

“I get it. But, I thought ponies only used ‘mate’ as a sexual term.”

Rarity glanced back. “I was told of your misunderstanding with certain words when you had your language incident a couple weeks back. Mother and sister are the same word in the same manner that Father and brother are; it’s all about context in our language. The same rule applies in Neighpon, only a bit stricter because our word for mother means just that, sister, aunt, niece, and daughter.

“The word, if I remember correctly, is the difference between saying ‘mah’, ‘mah mah’, and ‘mah ma’.”

Snickers hummed in thought. “So, there are actually different languages between ponies? What about all ponies speaking Ponish from when they’re born?”

Rarity nickered. “Whomever told you that?”

“Sweetie Belle.”

“As I thought,” Rarity said with a bit of humor. “No pony is born understanding or speaking a language, we all have to be taught. The only thing ponies do quite quickly is learn, though. A newborn pony does little more than suckle at a mare’s teat. How can one expect them to understand anything?”

Rarity held the door to the spa open for Snickers and followed him into the waiting area. “I’ll tell you shortly. First of all, allow me to set us up for a deluxe spa experience,” Rarity exclaimed and pranced to the counter. Snickers looked at a stack of magazines and went to them; sifting through several, he finally came across three that interested him, and none of them were adult in nature.

A magazine with toys, balls, and rulers on the cover was the one he pulled out from the choices and looked over.

‘FoalFun… a magazine named FoalFun. I guess I could look inside, just to see what the cover’s all about,’ Snickers thought to himself as he opened the cover. He was enchanted by the toys he saw on the first page advertised under a company name he couldn’t read because it was in elegant cursive.

He turned the page and then looked around the room quickly, cursing that there wasn’t a pencil nearby to help him finish the maze some other kid had started but stopped when they hit two dead ends too many. The next few pages had search and find games and when Rarity tried to move him from the table he was standing over he planted his hooves on the carpet to stay and look for the hiding sucker somewhere on the page.

“Just a minute, please! I’ve almost found it, I can feel it. Just a few more seconds,” Snickers pleaded and grabbed the edge of the table with his teeth as his eyes tried to roam the page.

Rarity pulled his hips with her magic. “Snickers, come on. We can’t sit out here and read all day, we have to spend time further in.”

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up.”

Rarity sighed in an unladylike fashion and looked back to Aloe. “Honestly, I never thought having a foal would be so much work.”

The spa mare giggled politely. “Ah, soorely you are nyot with your first foal, are you, Miss Rahr-ity?”

Rarity laughed. “Oh, heavens no. Not naturally, anyway. This is the colt I mentioned last time I was here, the one I’ve taken in as my own.”

“Ah, yes. I recall you saying such a thing to my seester and I, Miss Rarity. That was when Miss Apple-yak was with you, ja?”

“Indeed. Now… come along, Snickers. I’ll buy you a subscription to the blasted magazine if you’ll only let the table go.”

Snickers let the table go and fell to the floor, thankful his forelegs were dangling and were ready to catch him rather than not. He bucked his hind legs and turned around once he felt the magic leave his body. “Okay! But, mom,” Snickers sat on the floor and pouted, his eyes widened and his pupils dilated, the light caught and reflected off the moisture in his eyes; all at the same time.

Aloe and Rarity let out a combined ‘awww’ that got inner Snickers to whoop and do a backflip. “Mom, can you please make sure to sign me up for a subscription to FoalFun? It would make me the happiest colt in Equestria if you do.”

Rarity’s heart melted and she sat down, scooping him in her magic to hug him. “Oh, my mightly little prince! I’ll do that as soon as we’re home, I promise from the bottom of my heart. And… what do you say to some ice cream on the way home? To celebrate your first spa day with your,” she sniffled and rested her head on his mane, “mom.”

Aloe ‘aww’ed again and placed a hoof over her heart. “Yat is so sweet.”

“Thanks, you’re the best mom in Equestria,” Snickers gushed and hopped slightly in her embrace. “Let’s do this spa thing, it’s the only thing I can do with the best mom, right?”

Rarity let him go and stepped back. “After you, just follow Aloe to our first stop.”

Snickers looked back to the magazine for a split second before Rarity broke his line of sight and he looked at the smiling earth pony. “Okay, so… what first?”

“Ah, you will be most happy with your experience, young Snickles.”

“My name’s Snickers,” he corrected Aloe.

“Ah, that ees what I said. So, first we shall go to clean and yen we vil-”

“Mooom,” Snickers whined, “can you talk instead of her? It’s really annoying hearing her voice.”

Aloe giggled while Rarity gasped. “Snickers! That is uncalled for, apologize to Miss Aloe at once.”

Aloe smiled kindly. “No, yat is perfectly fine. Colts say za darnedest theengs, after all. If zat it what Sneekers wishes, then you may tell him, since you know our spa so waell.”

Rarity frowned for a second, then covered it with a very well rehearsed smile and with the flick of her mane to accentuate its bounce and detract from her facade switch, she agreed. “Very well. Snickers, first we are going to shower and clean ourselves very well. After that we’re going to soak in a hot tub to warm our muscles.”

Snickers smiled again. “A hot tub? I haven’t been in one of those yet! This is gonna be awesome,” he grinned at Rarity.

“Yes, and here is our private shower. You go in first, I have something to talk with Aloe about, I’ll be along shortly,” Rarity said in what seemed like a genial tone, but Snickers could feel the heat in her voice.

His ears drooped. “Yes, mother,” he said and rushed into the simple room. A low bench to sit on with hanging hooks to hang bathing supplies were on one wall while the other had a toilet next to a low sink with a partition between them. He moved past both and to the far wall and nosed his way under the shower curtain. “Nice.”

Snickers took his shirt off and did his best to fold it the way Rarity had showed him; he was many things, but being rude was becoming less of one, it seemed. He walked under the curtain and looked at the shower itself, large enough for the whole of his herd to fit and have space left over. Snickers shook his head a little. “They’re not my herd, I’m not in a herd anymore,” he said to himself. A little echo tickled his child side and he squeaked, giggling at the echo now that he knew it was there.

He puckered his lips and blew, and blew, and blew. “Damn it,” he said quietly, “I can’t whistle as a pony… yet, anyway. Okay, shower time,” he said turning on the water and adjusting the temperature. “Okay, scrubbers, check. I’d better take care of my personal areas before Rarity offers,” he said to himself grabbing a loofah.

Shortly after he was done under his tail and around to his sheath, he started washing his forelegs.

Rarity opened the door and stepped in, her conversation with Aloe winding up. “Oh, never you mind, Aloe, darling. There’s no trouble on my part, just swing by and I’ll make you leggings that will have stallions from Van Hoover lining up at the train station to court you.” Rarity laughed at something he couldn’t hear. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the tubs, then. Yes, I’ll be sure to give him one. Ha-ha, you’re such a card. See you soon.”

Rarity closed the door and Snickers heard the sound of metal clinking against the marble floor, hoof steps, and then the curtain glowed blue and Rarity walked in, closing the curtain behind her. “I apologize for the wait, Snickers; I had to apologize to Aloe for your language. She was most understanding, but as a business mare,” Rarity stepped under the water and began to wash her mane flat, “I was obligated to offer a trade.

“It’s not going to cost you anything, so don’t fret. Aloe was quite right when she said that you are only a colt, and children do say what comes to their minds. I would, however, appreciate it if you were less vocal about your opinions on others. It may be endearing now, but before you know it the ponies you talk about will find it to be a negative trait, and that’s something you don’t want, I’m sure.”

Rarity began to shampoo her mane and tail while using a brush Snickers couldn’t use to scrub through her coat to get everything from her skin to the tip of her fur off. He looked on with slight jealousy as Rarity’s whole body became covered with suds and bubbles. “Mom, can you scrub me like that? I can’t get myself as clean as you do,” Snickers asked.

“Oh, certainly, just let me finish and rinse, the girls will take care of everything else. I did pay for the deluxe package, they handle everything to make us feel like royalty in our own little town.”

Eventually the pair left the bathroom, Snickers didn’t know for sure, but he thought he was the cleanest he’d ever been after that scrubbing, and he liked it. Wearing matching and fitting white robes, Snickers followed Rarity down some halls and turns to a room with four hot tubs; the sound of roiling water quickly relaxed him and steam cleared his breathing as he took deep breaths.

Rarity stood at the edge of one of the tubs set in the floor and helped him disrobe. “Here we are, Snickers. Robes off, then slowly walk in to let yourself adjust.” She showed him be example and took nearly thirty seconds to sink until her head was just above the surface of the hot water.

“Okay, slow and steady, right?” Snickers said more than asked as he took a slow step forward and dipped his hoof into the water and slowly let the heat temper his hoof and then forelegs. “Okay, I’ve got this. No, whew,” he noticed he was sweating and Rarity was laying back relaxing, but watching him through a cracked eye. “No problem.” He stepped his hind legs in and his chest dipped into the water getting a hiss from him and perked, alert, ears from Rarity. “I’m okay. Just about there,” he only had a little to go and was feeling like he was adapting quickly… until the water touched his testes and he yelped, hopped up, then splashed into the water.

Rarity spluttered and wiped her eyes with her foreleg, and while she was starting that, Snickers broke the surface and whinnied while paddling towards her as quickly as he could. “Mom! Ah, help! I can’t swim and my nuggets are burning!”

Rarity wrapped him in her magic and lifted him from the water, unable to help looking at his supposed pain. “They look fine to me, darling.”

“Gah! Don’t stare at them!” Snickers lowered his forelegs to cover his exposed self.

“Oh, don’t be so sensitive; they’re only tesitcles. Be glad you have them since what mares have are nothing but trouble,” she rolled her eyes and started to lower him back into the water. “Don’t worry, if it’s still too hot for your… what did you call them? Nuggets?” Rarity giggled at the thought. “Well, I can see them as being akin to golden nuggets, if that’s what you’re inferring. However, it just feels uncouth to use a term like that for them.”

Snickers inhaled sharply as he was lowered into the water, this time it hurt a lot less and once he was released from her magical grip, Snickers sighed and leaned against Rarity. “Wow, this is really nice. I can just fall asleep, almost.”

Rarity shifted to get a little more comfortable and wrapped her foreleg around him, pulling him closer. “I won’t allow you to sleep the day away, but a short nap is totally understandable.”

Snickers shook his head. “Nah, not right now. I was wondering what else Sweetie might have told me that isn’t right. I mean, if babies aren’t born understanding, then what and how does all this work? Magic can’t be the answer for everything, I know it isn’t.”

Rarity kissed the top of his head. “Honestly, Snickers, while I have little to no idea of what you’re talking about, I can attest to the viability of the systems we use, as I’m sure you’re learning from Twilight, are you not?”

Snickers nodded. “Yeah, but how am I supposed to know what’s going on in this crazy universe without using the go to catch phrase of ‘magic’ while there’s gotta be an explanation that makes logical sense. Technology, math, something written that proves how something happens beyond ‘it just does’.

“That’s the kind of stuff you say to a child that asks something but you don’t know the answer or what to say to the question. So, with that out of the way, do babies speak Ponish from the beginning, like, is it an innate language?”

Rarity rocked her head side to side. “Very somewhat, yes. While it’s true that as a pony grows they can begin to speak in Ponish, but… well, Twilight’s much better about these kind of things, you know.”

“Yeah, but she’s just a librarian,” Snickers said looking up at her, “I wanna hear it from you.”

Rarity smiled and dunked him under the water. “You’re so sweet, but Twilight is much more than a librarian.”

“You dunked me for that?” Snickers asked shaking his head and getting water from his ears.

“No, I did it because it was fun.”

Snickers snickered and grabbed Rarity by the neck and tried pulling her under the water with him. She stood strong, resisting the fight he was putting up until his forelegs slipped and he splashed backwards into the water. He treaded the water and huffed. “” Snickers said with a grumble.

“Snickers,” Rarity said with surprise, “I didn’t know you could still speak in that other language. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Snickers shrugged. “I don’t really want ponies to know. They’ll make a big deal out of it and that’s nothing but trouble. I’d rather just be a pony, it’s so much easier than my old life. No tech means so many less problems.”

Rarity hummed and hugged Snickers to her. “True, the more complicated your life becomes as you get older, the harder it will be to have fun in the same ways. Now then, will you kindly rest with me and relax your body, let the heat soften your muscles for the next few moments.”

Snickers nuzzled into Rarity’s damp coat and sighed. “I can do that.”

...

Walking out of the hottub, Rarity and Snickers were quickly draped in large fluffy towels and rubbed dry by two employees each before they were ushered down the hallway to the massage rooms. Now wearing their robes again, they lay belly down on two side by side tables, they relaxed again as they waited. “So, my little prince, are you ready for some spinal realignment and muscle tension removal?”

Snickers lifted his head to look at Rarity. “What?”

Rarity snickered. “I’m only teasing, it’s just a massage. Don’t fret over the details, Silver Pip is a master with her hooves, you’ll be lucky if you don’t fall asleep.”

Snickers laid his head back into the opening and relaxed when he heard two ponies enter the room. He saw long slender light blue legs approach his table and then only two remained as the mare reared and rested her forelegs beside him.

The sensation of something warm being dribbled onto his back and rubbed into his fur calmed his racing heart and he sighed as he felt soft hooves pressing into his back beside his spine and moving from the center of his back to his hips and then back up. Every time she’d find a spot the he’d groan or nicker at, she’d massage the knots free until he fell asleep under her ministrations.

Snickers felt himself being moved slightly and woke up in a bleary daze when Silver Pip massaged his forelegs and hind legs, his flanks, and neck. He was in total bliss when he was awoken by soft nudging from Rarity. “Little prince, wake up my darling,” she said and treated him to her smile when his eyes opened.

“Ma, what? Where’m I?” Snickers asked with a quiet yawn.

“You’re still at the spa with me; you fell asleep during the massage, as I said you may. It’s time to move on to having a good grooming and a little primping. Come along, I’ll help you up,” she said and lifted him in her magic and placed him on his hooves on the floor. Snickers leaned side to side and had to have Rarity stand beside him so he could walk with her into the grooming room.

She helped him onto a reclining lounge chair and spoke with the attendants before she took her own seat and relaxed herself. Snickers smiled and relaxed listening to Rarity talk and gossip; his eyes fluttered closed again until he woke up laughing and giggling, kicking his legs when he felt his hind hoof being tickled.

“Stop! Ah, it tickles too much,” he laughed pulling himself back and fell off the lounge chair with a thump. He scrambled up and tripped over his robe falling over again to the amusement of the several customers and staff. He stood up and shook himself. “Wow, that tickled more than anything I’ve felt yet,” he giggled and climbed back onto the chair. “I’ll be less ticklish now, honest,” he grinned so wide his eyes closed.

The attendant rolled her eyes with a smile and a sigh, held his right rear hoof between her forelegs, and used her mouth to carefully file at his hoof, holding him still while he bit his forehoof and laughed, encouraging her to finish because it had to be done. By the time she was done with three of his hooves he was adapted to the sensation and had stopped laughing, resigning himself to a warm smile and the occasional breathy chuckle.

“So, my little prince, how do you feel now?” Rarity asked as Snickers looked at his polished forehooves from different angles.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but I can see myself in my hooves, this is really nice,” he said relaxing in his chair and looking aside at Rarity. “So, what’s next? Manes, teeth whitening, anal bleaching?”

There was a spit take across the room and Rarity began choking on a grape she was about to eat. Her attendant leapt up and struck Rarity in the belly and caught the small berry before it left her reach in her hoof, rolled it around the wall of her hoof, and tossed it expertly into a waste basket.

“Thank you, darling. And as for you, my young stallion, how can you suggest something so uncouth and…” Rarity, blushing brightly, couldn’t go on when she noticed not only the attention, but the giggling directed at her and her adopted son.

Snickers smirked slyly. “I read it in that magazine you ordered, mom. You know, the one with the--” Rarity whinnied and waved her forehooves at Snickers, hushing him.

The laughter grew and Rarity bit her lip. “Ladies, we’re all adults, save for my darling little prince here, so I’ll admit that I had an issue of playcolt on my bed for personal reasons. However, I had no intention of it being looked through and read by anypony underage.”

A mare whooped and another gave a wolf whistle. “Kinky, girl!” “Playcolt in bed!” “Fold out that stallion, mare!” “How big was the centerfold? Was he a double page standing up?” “I’ve gotta get an issue.” “I’d like to tie that marshmallow up tightly.” “I’d let her tie me up.” “Celestia, give me her flank shape.” “Sway for days and stallions for weeks.” “And mares, nummy.”

Rarity sat back with a content sigh. “Disaster averted,” she said softly. “Snickers, please don’t say such things around so many mares; it only invites unwanted attention.”

Snickers, on the other hand, was listening with rapt attention at the mares around the room gossiping and trading sexual ideas that grew with the passing seconds. Against his will, his body started to react and he turned to face Rarity. “Mom, I think I did something really dumb just now.”

Rarity glanced at the motion under his robe and pressed a hoof between her eyes. “Stallions should think before they speak, Snickers. Learn this lesson before you’re old enough for it to really matter.” She turned her attention to the attendant working on her last rear hoof and tapped her horn. “A quick file and I’ll be moving on to have my mane done. Can you have my little prince taken ahead?”

“Certainly, Miss Rah-rity… oh my, his a big colt. Going to make many mares very happy, indeed.”

Snickers blushed and quickly climbed off the chair and stood up, the robe draping low to the floor and easing at least the worry of eight mares seeing him erect. “I’ll see you soon, mom. I really should go ahead,” he awkwardly smiled and turned to follow an attendant from the grooming room to the next.

Ten cushions sat under ten hooded conditioning hair dryers and five hair washing stations were set into the floor with enough space for a pony to walk around. He was led to a wash station and sat next to it, then he spent ten minutes having his mane and tail washed thoroughly by a femanine looking stallion that hummed catchy tunes and asked simple questions of the colt.

Rarity walked in looking quite radiant. “So, what would you like done, Snickers?”

“Done? Like, to my hair?” He asked as the last of the soap was washed from his tail.

“Yes; style, color, etcetera.”

Snickers shrugged. “I have a silver mane and brownish coat. Whatever accents me and doesn’t make me look too attractive,” he emphasised the last word, “the last thing I need is another dozen fillies following me and trying to herd with me.”

The stallion gasped dramatically. “Oh, darling. If there’s one thing a colt shouldn’t have at your age is fillies following after him. Why, when I was your age there as a colt as yellow as the morning clouds with a smile brighter than fireworks over Canterlot,” he sighed, “that’s what true love can be, if you’re open to it.”

“I’m, not, gay,” Snickers stated.

“Oh, darling, neither was I, but look how I turned out. I can’t imagine being happier, and when a mare needs a little seed for her crops, then they know they can count on me and the boys to help them out.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Yes, as nice as that may be, and as wonderful it sounds to me that you are indeed happy; it isn’t a topic my little prince is willing to discuss at his age. He’s still very adamant against relationships, as I’m sure you can understand.”

The stallion nodded. “Yes, I do. I’m sorry little stallion, I overstepped my bounds and won’t bring anything of the sort up again, you can count on that… at least until you get your mark and have your mane done. Oh, the things I can already imagine doing to your hair and tail is just divine.”

Rarity cleared her throat again. “Are you about finished? My mane and tail are in dire need of some attention and I won’t have anypony but the best working on me.”

The stallion posed dramatically. “And as always, Clipper is here to work his magic on his favorite customer.”

Snickers rolled his eyes, at least content that he now knew the stallion’s name and what topics to avoid around him… and most mares after the grooming room.

Having his mane brushed, moussed, styled, and wrapped; Snickers was set under a dryer and left to sit. The best part was that he was given a copy of the magazine he was reading earlier. With a red pen in his mouth, Snickers did he best to hold it in his lips while using his teeth and tongue to move it. Displeased with his results, he returned to using both hooves to hold the pen and follow maze paths and work on unscrambling words to his content while Rarity underwent her own styling.

Snickers looked up and noticed Clipper brushing Rarity’s tail and ducked from under the dryer. “Excuse me, Mister Clipper? Can you style her tail like it used to be?”

Rarity looked back to see him. “Snickers, whyever would you want me to return to my old style?”

Snickers shrugged. “I’m not bothered by it anymore, at least not as badly. After bathing, sleeping, and playing with ponies; I’ve gotten used to seeing most parts as just being there and not like I used to. Heck, I’m not even wearing anything on my hind end anymore.”

Rarity smiled. “Well, Clipper; would you mind?”

Clapping his hooves happily, Clipper replied, “Nothing would make me happier! I’m taking your tail from drab to fab once again. Go back to your dryer, young stallion, or I’ll have to restart your mane and that includes a much more fab restyling, too.”

Snickers galloped back to his seat and felt the hot air covering his head and white noise filling his ears as he went back to his word find.

...

Stepping out, Snickers looked himself over in the light and couldn’t stop the grin from forming. “Wow! I’ve never looked so good, I hope you don’t mind that I don’t wanna put the shirt back on; it just looked dirty compared to me.”

Rarity tittered, leaned down, and nipped his ear. “That’s for doubting me. Now, we have to see the farrier for a fitting; you’ve been with me this long and have gone well enough without shoes, but no longer.”

Snickers looked at his hooves, both outside and bottom. “But, I just got these so nice… god, I do sound gay right now.”

Snickers flinched when Rarity stomped a hoof. “Snickers! That is no way to speak and if you continue to do so, I’ll have to add another bit to the jar each time you use derogatory terms.”

Snickers nodded. “Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, it was just a comment to myself.”

“Regardless, you could have insulted one of many ponies in the town that have that preference. Some don’t want it to be known because of their personal beliefs or those of their more traditional families, so watch your tongue. Now, come along, there’s only a little left for me to do before I release you back to your peers.”

“I’m coming,” he said flatly.

“Not yet, I hope,” Rarity replied and then pursed her lips. “I didn’t mean to say that just now. It slipped out.”

Snickers snickered. “Yeah, I bet it slips out pretty often.”

Rarity looked back at him and met his jovial eyes with her narrowed ones. “We shan’t speak in such a way again, not at your age. This is your only warning, understand?”

Snickers nodded. “Eeyup. Got it, no talking of the mating variety. Check. Roger. Wilco. Copy that. Affirmative.” He stumbled when he tried to salute.

A short walk brought them to an open tent with an anvil and hammer sign above the cloth door. Once inside heat and the sound of metal clanging assaulted his ears and he yelped at the striking sound. Rarity, being a significant color difference in the room that felt more like a day just before a heavy rain with its darkness not being enough to feel like being in a shadow, but the room was not bright enough to see into shadows clearly.

“Ah, Miss Rarity. It’s been a while, time fer new clackers?” A stallion’s voice said from over an anvil with a hammer in his mouth.

Rarity covered her nose from the smell of smelting metals. “Ah, no. I’m actually here for my colt. It’s his first shoeing and he needs the best experience bits can buy.”

“Ahh, yer too kind. Ah’m not more than a humble black smith. C’mere, boy. Name’s Anvil Cracker,” the stallion extended a foreleg and Snickers noticed the largest leg he’d ever seen being on this stallion. Anvil’s hoof was as large as Snickers’s head and part of his neck, the shoe he was wearing might have weighed as much as Snickers as well.

Reluctantly, Snickers brought his hoof to tap ever so meekly against the giant’s and once they touched the stallion stood up. Snickers felt his eyes widen and he stumbled back as the stallion towered over him and Rarity. “Oh, you’ll have to forgive my son, Anvil. He’s never seen a Clydesdale before. Snickers, Anvil. Anvil, Snickers.”

Snickers squeaked quietly and shuffled under Rarity, glancing out from under her to peek at the giant. “Ha-hah, he’s stronger than most when they meet me fer the first time. He didn't lose his bladder, so he has some right strength in ‘im.” Anvil lowered himself to his belly and grabbed his hammer, setting it down in front of himself.

“Snickers, was it? Tell ya what; if ya can move my hammer from where it is, ta right here,” Anvil scratched a line in the dirt, “then Ah’ll give ya some taffy. If’n ya can’t, then ya gotta give yer mom a big hug and help her with one little chore she gives ya when ya get home. Sound fair?”

The stallion winked at Rarity, who nodded in reply. Snickers poked his head out and looked at the stallion. The temptation of candy wasn’t even at challenge because Snickers couldn’t say no to the offer. Stepping out, Snickers carefully walked to the hammer and looked at it. It was as long as Rarity and probably had an iron core going through it with some impossibly heavy wood holding it together.

Snickers placed his forehooves against it and dug his hind hooves into the soil, somewhat pleased the tent wasn’t a permanent fixture so the earth was still soft. He puffed several deep breaths and heaved, surprised he was moving it, albeit slowly. He grunted and strained until he finally crossed the line and fell over the handle.

“Yes! I did it! Did you see that, mom?! I pushed it and it weighs like... a million tons and I did it!” Snickers whooped and bucked the air behind him before rearing and wheeling his forelegs with a whinney. He landed and cleared his throat. “Yeah, so… it wasn’t that big of a deal,” he said, trying to play it off after having just acted his age. “So…”

Anvil chuckled and it rumbled Snickers to his bones. “Well, I did say I would and yer ma agreed. So, here ya go,” Anvil tapped his fetlock and three pieces of wrapped taffy fell to the ground.

“Dude, sweet!” Snickers shouted and climbed over the hammer to the candies and scooped them up. “Thanks, Anvil! I’m sorry I was so scared, you’re just the biggest pony I’ve ever seen!”

“Anvil is actually a horse, Snickers,” Rarity clarified, “and he’s only one of a few in the nation. Most horses moved south and on from there when ponies settled and began to control the world around us.”

Anvil planted his hooves in the ground and stood up. “Eeyup, ain’t natural changin’ nature the way yer ancestors did. So, my kind went’n moved ta where nature just happens. It’s better that way, in mah opinion. But, we ain’t here fer that. We’re here ta get ya some shoes, right?”

“Actually, just set him up for slippers, if you wouldn’t mind,” Rarity stated.

Anvil nickered and sent Snickers running back to Rarity’s side from the sudden sound that came across as one of the loudest things he’d ever heard on Equus. “Slippers. If there weren’t a way ta spit in a smith’s eye than ta make shoes that slip on ‘n off than that… twelve bits, Miss Rarity.”

Rarity nodded and stepped back a step to nudge Snickers ahead. “What?! How’s he gonna do anything with my little hooves, mom?”

Rarity giggled and Anvil chuckled. “Little colt, Ah might be the smith, but every smith has an apprentice. C’mon out, Azi.”

A golden light flickered from behind a stack of boxes and a colt emerged quickly running around the corner. He slipped on some mud from the cooling pot and barely kept his hooves under him as he slid into Anvil’s hind leg with a cough that exhaled most of the air from his lungs. “H-here, Master Anvil.”

Anvil grumbled. “Ain’t no master, ya worthless mutt. Get the colt sized fer shoes and Ah’ll be watchin’, ya mess up and I’ll have yer hide fer the hilt of my next sword.”

Rarity’s jaw hung slack at the harsh language to what seemed to be a unicorn colt. Azi, as he was called, stepped around Anvil’s leg and his horn lit. “Come, let me show you something new. Something cool with your shoes.”

Rarity’s ears perked and her head cocked to the right as she tried to see features on the unicorn colt. Snickers followed Azi around the stallion and to a small seat where Azi sat on and instructed Snickers to give him his right hind hoof. “So, have you been doing this for a while?” Snickers asked.

“No, my dream was to be a chef; the greatest in the land. Fate felt free to deal me another hand.”

Rarity stepped close and lit her horn to look at the colt and inhaled sharply at the black colt. She looked at Anvil with a glare. “What is the meaning of this?!” She pointed at the colt.

Anvil lowered his head and looked into Rarity’s eyes. “Found ‘im on the road between here ’n there. Took him under my tent, he’s mine and not your problem, Miss Rarity. Maybe ya’d like ta set a spell in the sunlight? Might do ya some good ta clear yer head from the fumes in this here tent.”

Rarity frowned and stared the stallion down. “What of his marks? The burns, welts, bruises?”

“All part ‘a the job. This c’n be a mighty dangerous place if ya ain’t careful, gotta learn the hard way, this one does,” Anvil snorted at the trembling colt. “Besides, he’s a mutt; won’t find any home fer him, so I’m stuck with ‘im ‘til I get back home.”

“And what do you plan to do when you get back to your home, hrm?” Rarity asked.

Anvil stood tall and stepped aside. “Nice talkin’, Miss Rarity. But this ain’t about business, and that’s none of yer concern. Azi, fix’m up and send ’m on.”

“Y-yes, sir. M-mister, um, colt; your hooves are amazingly clean and well cared for; the task will be done quickly and fine. Though, I will still have to take my time.” Azi gripped some nails in his magic and brought them over, along with several other tools in a rolled leather pouch. They were unrolled and Snickers looked them over with a wince.

“Yeesh, this isn’t a surprise gelding, is it?” He joked darkly. He didn’t get any reaction and the air felt heavy from more than the blacksmith’s work and equipment. With care and spacers, nails were carefully hammered into Snickers’s hind hooves and temporary shoes were slipped on to keep him balanced.

Azi sighed. “Two are done, two to go. Then you will be free, as you know.”

Rarity had walked around the colts and spent a little more time looking over Azi in detail; under the light of her magic she could tell several things about him that were different, yet familiar. Anvil had taken a seat by the fire and watched with disinterest as the unicorn colt worked, which gave Rarity a chance to ask a burning question she’d had since she first shone her light on him.

She leaned close and whispered her question. “Your legs aren’t black, are you covered in sut?”

Azi turned slightly and spoke after hammer strikes to cover his voice. “I am not black, I am not white. I happen to have many a stipe.”

Rarity’s eyes widened and she glanced over her shoulder at Anvil. Noting that the stallion was staring at the ceiling, she nodded to the colt and resumed her walking and pacing. On her next opportune pass, she leaned in again. “When you have the chance, go into town and find a round purple house, if you want to be rid of this beast. You’ll be safe in town.”

Azi nodded and kept at his work and Rarity made another couple laps, stopping beside Snickers and telling her of his part in the plan to take Azi from Anvil.

Once Snickers was shoed properly, he took a couple minutes to walk and prance around the tent, adapting to the new feeling before standing beside Rarity and watching her pay for the service.

“Thank you, Anvil. While I was a bit cross, I meant nothing by it and I truly look forward to seeing you in the future. When, by chance, will you be breaking my heart and leaving the town for your return trip?”

Anvil tossed the bits into a pile of hay. “Go get them, Azi. Miss Rarity, I’ll be here for another week, then I’ll be moving south ta Honeyvale.”

Biting back a harsh reply, Rarity smiled with effort. “Oh, that’s just awful. I wasn’t expecting you to arrive a couple days ago, and now you’re leaving already?”

“Yes, I miss my home and takin’ this lump under my care is just strainin’ me ta no end. He’s too dumb ta send ahead and too needy ta leave behind. Life is what it is, though. Ah’ve got a lotta work ta do, so if ya don’t mind,” Anvil said and picked up his hammer with his lips and moved it into his teeth. “Have a good’n.”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed. And, if I don’t see you again, I wish you the best of luck and the most fabulous of travels.”

Rarity ushered Snickers from the tent and the sound of the town washed over them in a much needed change of scenary. “Snickers, do you recall what I said?”

Snickers nodded and turned to the left while Rarity went right. “Excuse me, Miss Roseluck?” Snickers asked, rearing onto the flower cart to see the mare and her two friends. “It’s an emergency, and a secret. Can you help me?”

Rose nodded and the trio leaned closer. “What is it? You’re not in trouble again, are you?”

Snickers shook his head. “No, no crusading troubles… per se, but this is more important. There’s a black unicorn colt that’s gonna come by and you have to tell everypony to say they never saw him, okay?”

The mares flicked their ears. “I… don’t understand.”

“No time, I’ll tell some other people to spread the word. He’s running away from trouble, so he needs us to keep him safe, can you do this, mares?” Snickers asked and pouted the way his herdmates had taught him.

The mares aww’ed and agreed, Lily and Blossom went different ways whispering to ponies around the market and within ten minutes, nearly every pony in Ponyville was in on the plan. Rushing back to the boutique, Snickers walked in to find Rarity sitting with Sweetie Belle on a fainting couch. Both looked at him when he walked in.

“Snickers! You’re back and Rarity told me about the colt you were with. What’s going on, are you okay? Do you need a hug?” Sweetie asked as she ran to him and hugged him tightly.

“Urk! Why do I need a hug?”

“Because, you found another colt in trouble… it’s okay if you wanna cry, I’m here for you because you’re family and a crusader, too.”

“Sweetie, you needn’t worry so much about Snickers,” Rarity said over Sweetie’s attentiveness. “With luck, the ponies I’ve told will spread the word with the ones Snickers told and the issue will be resolved on its own. After all, if Azi isn’t with Anvil by choice, and Anvil has made it seem as though the colt is nothing but trouble for him, we’re helping them both by taking Azi away from the scene.”

Snickers nodded. “Yeah, so, can you let me go? Ah, thanks. Hey, I got new shoes, check’m out,” Snickers said showing Sweetie his right forehoof.

Sweetie touched his shoe with her hoof. “Oh, nice. I like how, ouch… my shoulder still hurts, but I’ll be okay.”

Rarity trotted to Sweetie’s side. “Oh, you were telling me about falling down. Are you doing better?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah. Oh, so, Snickers. I was almost to the clubhouse after falling from the catapult when Big Mac shows up and carries me to Granny Smith. She gave me some stuff to rub on it and then Apple Bloom showed up with Scootaloo and they took me back here!” She inhaled to regain her breath. “Now, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are out telling the foals about the new guy hiding out here, if he shows up, that is.”

Snickers nodded in understanding. “Well, it’s been one heck of a day and it’s barely 4:00 in the afternoon. I’m just gonna wait… in the…” he started scraping his hooves on the floor. “How do I take these off?”

Sweetie shrugged and looked at Rarity. “Sit down, darling. To slip them on and off, you have to stand with your weight on them, one at a time, and then step forward to unlock them and when you want them back on, you just have to learn where to step and then when you slide back they’ll lock back on.

“At your age and size the options are a bit limited, but that’s why I custom order clothing and accessories from around the nation. While Anvil won’t receive any more of my business, I know my suppliers have more than enough to send me shoes in your size.

“Speaking of which,” Rarity turned to her sister. “You should at least have a set, so I’ll set something up for you and take you on a trip to the spa and have you done there. I apologize, Snickers; had I known Anvil was so barbaric, I’d have not taken you to see him. However, he was kind to you and, with this, we may actually save another foal from a lack of accommodating circumstances.”

Together they waited in the main showroom, Rarity having brought a small pail of water and towels to clean the colt, should he arrive while Snickers and Sweetie Belle played cards to kill the time.

Author's Note

So, this chapter kinda got away from me and I rewrote it twice to come to this point over the past week. If there's anything amiss, please let me know.
Comments are appreciated and very welcome.

A couple chapters to go then on to the next book!

Starting with more varying tales of life as a normal foal and then things take an unexpected turn!

No, not related to Harmony, or anything that's happened before in the story.

Thanks.