Snickers: A New Land

Snickers splashed in the pool after Silver Spoon who held the ball between her forehooves as she ran with her hind legs on the bottom of the above ground pool they’d had installed. Silver Spoon looked back over her wither and squealed as she noticed him almost touching her back with his forehooves.

Diamond Tiara popped up from below the surface of the water to tackle the colt from the side into the chilly waters. Snickers wrapped her in a grapple and twisted around her before planting his hind hooves on the bottom and pushing towards the gray filly while under water. Silver turned her head so quickly her braid spun around and slapped against her neck.

With a large splash Snickers broke the surface and grabbed the ball with a gasp of air he needed desperately. Silver happily screamed and swam away from the colt as a flustered Diamond Tiara broke the surface, her mane having come out of the bun it had been put into now flowed down her face and neck smoothly.

“Hey, you almost drowned me!” Diamond shouted. Snickers replied by tossing the ball at her, bouncing it off her head. “Okay, that’s it!” Diamond said as she played mean and plowed a slow pace through the water after her boyfriend. “When I get you, you’re gonna regret it.”

Snickers laughed as he hopped in the water getting a good pace ahead of her while still chasing the screaming gray filly.

Trixie watched from the top floor of the apartment while guards did their job around the area. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched the foals act their age. One guard walked up to her and stood beside her, looking down at them. “Ma’am, can I ask you a question?”

“Trixie will answer your question,” Trixie replied with a smile as she glanced to the mare beside her, “as long as it isn’t about Equestria. Trixie is tired of being asked those questions.”

“Are you really leaving soon?”

Trixie sighed and looked down at the foals splashing in the water. “If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?”

“Of course, I think of you every day.”

“I must be traveling on soon, there’s too many places I have yet to see,” Trixie said, looking to the sky.

“But if you stay, things would be so much better,” the guard answered.

“You don’t understand; Trixie is as free as a bird, and this bird you cannot change.”

“But what if we were to make you an offer? Surely you’d like to stay then?”

“Trixie is a free bird, guardsmare, and this bird you cannot cage.” Trixie replied with a soft smile.

“So, there’s no changing your mind?”

Trixie shook her head. “You cannot change this bird any more than you can change a manticore.”

The guardsmare sighed and stepped away from Trixie. “Very well, but know you’ll always be welcomed here by the guard and, I’m sure, Lord Lorde.”

Trixie giggled. “Such a dumb name.”

The guardsmare smirked. “Don’t tell him, but most creatures agree with you on that.”

Trixie laughed and shook her head, flicked her tail, and looked at the guardsmare. “What is your name? Trixie feels she should know this after such an interesting conversation.”

The mare looked at the horizon and smirked. “Free Bird, ma’am. It’s been an honor,” she bowed slightly and replaced her helmet. With a flap of her wings she took off and entered into a glide, keeping guard over the area.

Trixie watched her leave and sighed, speaking softly to herself. “Maybe I should return someday before too long. A free bird returns home more than once in a while, after all.”

Snickers shook after he was dry, tossing the towel off his back and onto the cobblestone ground. He looked at the pink filly to his left and smiled at her even though she couldn’t see him as she was drying herself off. Silver Spoon playfully tossed the towel at Snickers who laughed as he shook it off his face.

“Thanks, honey.” Diamond said getting his attention.

“What for?”

Diamond nuzzled him. “For playing with us. It’s been so long since I just… had fun. Not that sex isn’t fun, but if it’s all we do it kinda gets old.”

Snickers winked at Diamond. “So, wanna play catch?” He asked.

Snickers felt a slap on his flank getting him to yelp and look at Silver Spoon who was starting to gallop away. “Tag, you’re it!”

Laxxie was a content creature. She had been living in the forest outside Frand for nearly a month by now and hadn’t had any worries. When she was hungry there was always ample sunlight and creatures to kill and bury before she rooted over them; life was good.

A short scream broke the peace while Laxxie was sunning herself, having a solar snack, getting her attention. She stood up and shook some fallen leaves off her timberwolf body before looking in the direction of the noise. It was unusual to hear anypony out in the woods, much less as far out as she was from the city.

She entered a trot through the foliage making nary a sound save for her paws crunching some dry leaves around a dying set of trees. Laxxie halted suddenly as she sensed a creature approaching her, fast. Taking a stance, she readied herself for anything before a small pony ran out of the brush just to her right, surprising her as she expected the pony to appear in front.

Laxxie hopped back in surprise as the pony looked up at her and shrieked, tripped, rolled a few times in every way and fell hard at Laxxie’s paws. Groaning, the pony went limp; resigned to its fate.

Laxxie stood up and leaned over the pony, sniffing several times across its body before determining it was definitely a stallion. What’s a stallion doing running in the forest? Laxxie wondered.

Two grey minotaurs rushed into the area and halted as quickly as they could without toppling over. “What in the Almighty’s name is that?!” One of them shouted in anger and fear.

The other took a split second longer before raising a whip and cracking it beside him. “Bring it!”

The first glanced to its comrade as it lowered its head and snorted. Laxxie looked down at the pony below and hopped over it, baring her fangs as she guarded him. “Mine,” was all she mumbled just loud enough for the pony to hear before the minotaur charged.

Blindly rushing forward and around a sapling, the minotaur made its way to Laxxie, intent on goring her and taking its prize. Laxxie wasn’t having it though. When the minotaur was about fifteen feet away, she turned quickly and swatted its head with her bark covered tail, earning a rage filled cry of pain.

Lifting its head, the minotaur had a second to react to ramming face first into a large tree, which it did with a heavy thud. “Damn it,” it shouted as it stumbled back and held its face with both hands.

The other, a female by the large uncovered chest it sported, narrowed her eyes and pulled a stick from its back. Laxxie was curious what the thing did, but waited as the minotaur attached a metal tip and held it forward. “Die, beast!” She charged toward Laxxie who didn’t move. Taking the spear into her chest like a champ, the timberwolf looked down at the now quarter buried shaft inside her chest, then followed its length to the nervous minotaur. “Um, hi?”

Laxxie bellowed sappy spittle into her face.

The other minotaur tried to tackle Laxxie from the side, but she planted her paws and stayed steady. She turned and bit into the males shoulder and tossed him like a ragdoll into a tree, cracking his back against it. The female tried to pull the spear free but let it go when Laxxie returned her attention to her.

The spear absorbed into Laxxie’s body and a few seconds later she coughed the spear tip up. Hesitating, the female minotaur took a step back and toward her friend before glancing down at the pony. “Sorry, slave, you’re dead meat anyway.” With that said, she hurried to the bull and helped him up onto her back before she took off back the way they’d come.

Laxxie relaxed her posture and turned to the pony lying on the ground. Black mane and a coat similar in color to her Alpha’s, she thought about reporting the event to him, but decided to wait and see what would happen. Growling, she stalked closer to the pony again and then snapped her teeth shut, realizing she wasn’t presentable.

She watched the stallion trembled with his eyes shut, then Laxxie shed most of her bark hide to expose the timberpony hidden within. She shook out her grassy mane and spit out a mouthful of sharpened teeth below her. “Hi, I’m Laxxie. What’s your name?” Laxxie asked.

The stallion peeked one eye open and snapped it shut seeing a wooden leg. “J-just eat me, end it all.”

Laxxie cocked her head to the side. “I’m not gonna eat you, you’re too big.”

The pony opened both his eyes and barely lifted his head to see the much smaller creature of wood.

“What happened to that monster?”

“Oh, that was me. I scared away those meanies chasing you.”

The stallion blinked owlishly, then rolled to his belly, wincing as bruises and scrapes made themselves known. Looking at the stallion, Laxxie wondered why he was being chased while the stallion looked at Laxxie with apprehension. “I’m… Red. You’re Lassie, right?”

Laxxie giggled softly. “Laxxie. Why were they chasing you?”

“I’m an escaped slave; been a slave all my life until now.” Red stated as he pushed himself up and winced. Looking back he grimaced. “They took everything from me, except my will to be free.”

Laxxie stared for a second at the stallion, then blinked. “You’re a pony, how can you be a slave?”

Red snapped his attention back to Laxxie. “Everyone can be a slave in these lands. And what are you, anyway; some kind of free golem?”

Laxxie nodded twice. “I’m a timberpony, but if I need to I can roll around in the area and become a timberwolf. My daddy is a pony, though.”

“A real pony, or a timberpony?” Red asked as he rolled his shoulders and turned slightly to look around.

Laxxie blinked several times, taking in what she was seeing. “You have one wing. Where did the other go?”

Red turned his muzzle to Laxxie and frowned. “Yeah, they took my other wing when I was younger,” he said, squaring up with Laxxie, “wanna make something of it?”

Laxxie shook her head. “I don’t know what to make with it. I’d probably just bury it, if I had it.”

Red didn’t know what to say and his thoughts were muddled. He relaxed his posture when he realized he wasn’t dealing with a mean pony but a small… plant pony. “You didn’t answer me about your dad.”

“He’s a real pony, he birthed me five moons ago. He’s really nice and smart. He’s kinda like you, but you’re a stallion and he’s only my size.”

Red smirked. “I’m not a stallion, I’m just big for my age, see?” He said, turning his flank to show it was blank. “I don’t know when I’ll get it, but as long as I’m not with them, it can be anything.”

Laxxie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, my daddy will get his and it’ll be amazing.”

Red stretched his hind legs, then turned around. “So, where are we?”

“Don’t you know? This is a forest, silly.”

Red snickered. “No, where in the forest are we?”

“Right here,” Laxxie stated and tapped the ground, cocking her head slightly to the right in confusion. “Don’t you know anything?”

Red sighed and rolled his red eyes. “I mean how far to a city?”

“Frand is a half days trot that way,” she pointed, “that’s where my daddy is.” When Red shook his head, Laxxie pointed in another direction. “That way is the old camp where meanies lived. They killed daddy’s friend, so I scared them and killed the rest. That way is my favorite spot to eat and rest.”

Red inhaled deeply. “So, are there any safe places for me to hide?” He finished with a deep exhale.

Laxxie looked up to the sky in thought, then looked towards the west. “I know! Follow me, I think there’s a place you’ll like. It’s safe.”

Red followed the timberpony, watching her grassy mane and tail sway with each step. As he walked he bit and tore leaves off trees and nibbled on bushes as he went, trying to sate his aching stomach; it hardly worked. He was almost ready to ask to stop so they could graze, but habit stopped him. He was already getting out of his depth talking so freely and thoughtfully, as opposed to doing what was told of him, silently obeying.

“So, how much farther?” Red eventually asked as they reached a large creek. He looked around cautiously before lowering his muzzle to the water and taking several gulps.

“It’s not too far, maybe half a day’s walk.”

Red inhaled sharply then coughed water from his mouth and snorted some from his snout. “What? I thought you said we were close.”

“It is close, unless you want to go to my daddy. He can help you and keep you safe from-”

“No! I mean, no thank you. I’ll go to your safe place.”

Laxxie stepped into the water and waded half way before looking back. “Are you coming?”

“Yes, I’ll be right behind you.” Red stated as he stepped into the cold water. As it passed his fetlocks he shivered at the temperature, but before he knew it he was out and barely wet to his knees. He wondered what it would be like to splash in the water like he’d seen his former master’s children do, but hurried to keep up with the creature he was following.

Eventually hours passed with only nature’s sounds and their limbs striking the ground, soothing the nerves of the pony until Laxxie stopped suddenly. Red stopped and crouched, his ears turning this way and that, trying to find out why she’d halted. He didn’t hear anything.

“What are you doing?” Laxxie asked, looking over her shoulder at Red.

“I thought you heard a slaver coming.”

Laxxie turned to him and cocked her head. “No, we’re here. The safe place.”

Red stood up and looked around, not seeing anything different of note. “What’s so safe about this place? Besides it’s far away from anything.”

Laxxie moved to a larger tree and pushed a dying bush aside, showing a crack in the tree that was hollow. “There’s a hole in the tree and it goes down into a… um, I don’t know the word… a bigger hole?”

Red didn’t know the word she meant, but he could guess it was something like a cave. He moved past her and peeked his head inside, noting a soft glow from beneath. He moved forward squeezing his shoulders in before the ground gave way suddenly and he slid in to his hips, stopped only by his thin legs bowing out to stop his fall.

Red coughed a couple times as dirt fell, then he opened his eyes and gasped at the network of gems and deep roots that permeated the cavernous opening. The only problem he had now was the drop of nearly ten feet straight down that would probably break some bones. “Hey, can you pull me up?” He called back.

Laxxie bit his tail and dug her hooves into the ground and backed up, easily pulling the pony free.

“Wow, that does look like a safe place. Now, how do I get down there and back out without hurting myself?”

Laxxie blinked twice at the large colt. “Can’t you just… oh, right,” she said, glancing to his bare side, “what about a rope? Can you climb?”

Red shook his head. “Not with hooves, my master had hands and those were made for more stuff. I wish I had hands sometimes.”

Laxxie shrugged. “I don’t have hands and I do okay.”

“You’re a plant pony, you probably don’t even need to eat food. I don’t think you even feel pain, do you?” Red asked, somewhat indignantly.

Laxxie nodded. “I feel pain and I eat. I’m real, see?” She stated and tapped her chest.

Red scoffed. “There’s more to being alive than that.”

“Like what?”

Red opened his mouth and hesitated, thinking it over. In his few years of life it hadn’t come up, much less in the time he was being beaten or told what to do or where to go. “There just is! Look, are you gonna help me or not?”

Laxxie trotted in place. “I’m a good helper! What do you need?”

“Food, for one. Then a way to get down there without breaking my legs,” he pointed to the hollowed tree.

Laxxie giggled cutely into a wooden hoof. “Silly, there’s food everywhere. You’re a pony, so eat trees and stuff.”

Red looked up and groaned. “I don’t wanna do that. I do that all the time and I’m always hungry.”

“Oh. I can help you, I think. Do you like berries?”

Red’s attention went back to Laxxie and he answered anxiously. “Yeah, what kind?”

“All the kinds! There’s an allberry tree I know of and the yummy juice fills me up right away.” Laxxie said, patting her side.

Red looked around the area. “So, where is it?”

Laxxie turned her grassy tail to the colt and started walking. “Not far, just around the hill over there,” she pointed to a massive dirt hill that spanned a length beyond what he could see. It wasn’t too high, but it would be a rough climb for his weakened body.”Follow me.”

“Yes, ma-” Red stopped himself from speaking and followed silently to the hill. He watched the timberpony climb easily up the hill and he went to follow her steps, only to slip down with each try. A giggle reached him from above, incensing him. “Shut up! I can’t do it,” he sat with a huff, “I’m not strong enough and its slippery.”

Laxxie turned away and silence, save for the natural sounds of nature, fell. A berry bounced off his head. “C’mon, the berries are right here. Don’t you want some?”

Red hungrily knelt down and ate the berry, along with some fallen leaves. The juice was delightful and the texture was barely rough on his tongue; a great motivator for his hunger to be satiated in longer than he could think to remember. He moved almost on instinct as he climbed the hill, falling to his knees to grip the detritus rather than using his hooves alone. In a mere several seconds he’d reached the top and almost bumped muzzles with the pony he was growing to know better and better.

She giggled and backed up a step to point to a large cluster of bushes bearing thousands of berries of different colors. Recognizing one as the one he ate a minute before he pushed past the filly and trotted to the bush. He sniffed the bush he was by before delving in to eat. He ate berries, leaves, and pulled off a few branches as he went for nearly a minute until he stopped to burp a little. He heard Laxxie giggle behind him, then gasp when he turned to her. She then laughed and pointed to his muzzle.

“You look like a meat eater!” Laxxie announced. Red looked down his muzzle to see some red at the top of his snout. He wiped at his mouth with a foreleg and looked at the color; a deep red. Shuttering, he closed his eyes tightly. “What’s wrong? I thought it was funny, sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

Red licked his lips and his eyes opened, a smile formed on his lips. “It’s nothing, I’m not around them anymore… and this is really tasty. Thank you, ma’am,” he said turning back to the bush, eating at a more relaxed pace. Munching quietly, over a few minutes, he ate his fill of the bush clearing nearly a quarter of it of leaves and berries both.

With a content sigh, Red sat down and looked at the canopy above. Seeing birds in the sky, he smiled wistfully until a wooden pony entered his line of sight. “So, want me to help you make a way down? Or do you want to sleep outside with me?”

“Sleep? Isn’t it early for that?”

Laxxie smiled. “It’s never too early for a good nap.”

Red looked along the path he’d made to the bushes from hill. He got up and shook his thin body from the dirt and dead leaves that had clung to him. “Well, I guess we should find a way for me to make that my home now.”

Laxxie nodded and hurried ahead, rolling in the detritus down the hill the whole way. When Red looked down the hill he saw a giant ball of leaves, dirt, and sticks that seemed to roll to the tree he’d been shown. Without a word the mess began to flow inside until it was all gone. He blinked and then thoughtlessly went to follow, slipping and tumbling down the embankment until he reached the bottom and curiously went to the hollowed tree.

“Hello?” He called down the opening, his echo being his only reply, save for the sound of rustling leaves.

“Wait!” Laxxie called from inside a couple seconds later. Time passed and he waited patiently as he was told until the sky changed from bright blue to a soft hue of pastels indicating the waning evening.

The ground felt like it trembled, but Red couldn’t be sure; then a sinkhole appeared beneath him and he yelped as he fell into in, right onto a pile of sod and leaves. “Ta-da! Welcome to your home,” Laxxie said as she gestured to her side.

Red rolled twice to get off the soft mat and onto his hooves. He was about to admonish the timberpony before he looked around the cavernous area. He had dropped a short ways but there was now a thin layer of churned earth that was soft to the touch. He noticed a small path dug from into the wall but didn’t know where it went yet.

The areas around them were lined with roots and somehow they seemed to be supportive in nature, holding the area firm. The gems were moved around the area opening it up more and allowing for natural light to reflect between them giving a soft glow to the cave. In one section the wall was hollowed out and it seemed ready to become a bed while another section had a natural stone area set up like a table.

Laxxie pranced around Red. “Do you like it?” She asked several times before trotting to the alcove. “This is where you bed can be. I’ll get you some grass and soil to make it soft. Over there can be where you eat when you have company, and I made a path out that way so you don’t have to fall every time you wanna come in. It leads to the bushes you ate, so don’t eat them all or you’ll have to extra hide the hole. Oh, the hole up there is gonna be closed up. I just wanted to surprise you.”

Red looked around and smiled slowly into a grin. “Thank you! I love it,” he said rushing to hug the timberpony. He sniffed her mane and felt his tummy ache. “I’m kinda hungry again, do you have any hay or long grass?”

Laxxie shook her head. “No hay out here, just what you can find. Don’t go too far, either. If you get lost I can’t promise I’ll find you again.”

Red let her go and trotted to the tight hole she’d dug. “Does this lead out, then?”

“Yes, to the bushes. Is it too small for you?”

Red snerked. “Are you calling me fat?”

Laxxie looked him over and shook her head. “I can see your bones, you’re not fat at all.”

Red snorted. “Thanks, now I have to gain weight.”

“That would be best,” Laxxie said sagely.

Red reached into the hole and climbed in, crawling his way for a while until it arced up. He pulled hard with muscles that were growing more tired with each pull until he smelled fresh air. Poking his head from the exit he flinched in surprise to see Laxxie staring at him. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to hurry up. You said you were hungry so I was going to help you get some meat and vegetables.”

“Meat?” Red asked as he pulled himself free and flopped to the side before he got to all fours and crept from the bushes, looking and listening for danger. “I’m a pony, we don’t eat meat.”

Laxxie shrugged. “You can, you just don’t usually. C’mon, I’ll help you get something to eat!”

At the offer, Red followed the excited leader into the growing evening until they came to a wild patch of various vegetables. Red sniffed a melon on a vine and took a tentative bite; the sweet juices washed through is mouth and he couldn’t help but take several more bites before he could stop himself. Looking around he whinnied in glee at the options he had.

“I started this for my daddy if he had to leave Frand. He gets into trouble sometimes, but I’m glad somepony gets to enjoy these, anyway.” Laxxie said as Red finished half the melon and left it to move on to a large leafy root vegetable. He munched through several bites, then moved several paces to a bright head of lettuce.

He munched on that, too, losing himself to primal hunger for a few minutes until he was very full. “Ugh, I… I haven’t been this full in my whole life.”

Laxxie giggled. “Let’s get you home, then. I’m getting sleepy and have to root soon.”

“Root?” Red asked as he got up and looked back at his body and smiled at the distended belly.

“It’s how I eat and rest. See,” Laxxie held up a wooden hoof and extended small tendril like vines from it.

“Oh, duh, like a plant.”

“I am a plant,” Laxxie said, leading Red back to his new home in the ground.

Reaching the bush, Red tried twice to get into the hole, but he was low on energy and motivation, just wanting sleep at that point after a long harrowing day.

“I’ll make the hole bigger for you,” Laxxie offered and entered ahead of him. The ground rumbled and after a couple minutes, she called for him. While he followed down the now slightly wider tunnel, Laxxie closed the opening in the roof nearly completely and moved some of the soft sod and grass to the bedding area.

When he finally got in, Red stumbled toward the bed and climbed onto the soft matt she’d made for him. “Thank you, Laxxie, so much.”

“Am I a good friend?”

“My best friend,” Red said as he quickly fell asleep.

Laxxie grinned and giggled, then moved to nuzzle Red. “I like you, too.”