“Juwian? No can find nice staff mista anywhaw. An’ bwite time am endin’” The massive grey earthy rumbled, black mane tumbled into his face.
The silver alicorn at his heels seemed even more uneasy. “Dis am not gud. Wittwe babbeh nu shud be out hewe, eida.” He mantled his long wings, hunching protectively over the tiny figure between his front hooves.
The tall black alicorn in front of them turned, ears flicking as his wings ruffled. “Juwian knu.” His blue eyes tracked the setting sun, scanned the empty brush and lot around them as he gave the dirt road a wistful look, slit pupils widening as the light dimmed. “Dis nu hunt. Babbeh tu wittw for hunt, an staff mista’s and hooman pack awpha nu weabe pack awone dis wong duwin hunt.” He shook out his burgundy mane, grumbling. The foal between the silver alicorn’s hooves made a soft, plaintive sound, and he tensed, seeming to come to a decision as he studied the others with him. “Sywbin. Stay hewe, wit babbeh. Wowan, stay wit. Wait kwiet, wook fo’ hoomins. If wab hoomins, teww wewe pack am, wite pointy point, caww pack. If udda hoomin, watch. Seem nicey or nu- mean, wun gu tawk. Wepeat wat pack am towd to say if wost.”
The charcoal and maroon earthy who stepped up at his name nodded. “Be powite and nicey. Teww nicey mista ow mam dat am wost. Ask to caww numba on tag, fo fwuffy be picked up.” His eyes widened as he reached up with a split hoof to his collar, finding only the plastic box of the e-collar and not the usual jangling tag. “Juwian!”
“It otay. Numba am eite nin’ six, seben fib wun, tu fib seben eite.” Sylvin recited with his eyes closed in focus. Then he reached down, picking up the tiny peachtan filly sitting between his hooves by her tangled mane of cinnamon curls, setting her between his wings as her own downy brown wings fluttered.
“Tanku, Syb” she squeaked, and burrowed into his fluff. “…Wissette am hab miwkies an’ wawmies? Mayb?” she asked, very quietly. The black pegasus standing in the large grey earthie’s shadow stepped forward, nuzzling the little foal comfortingly without a word.
“Cawixt’. Gewoud. Gu wook an twy fin’ saf’ place fo’ dis dawktime. Cober’d nuff case ob skywata, out ob way, hawd to see, big nuff fo’ pack. Juwian an’ Weon gu…gu wook fo’ nummies”
The earthy rumbled a low growl, baring catlike fangs at the deserted dirt road leading away from them. “Nummies, ow fwuffie nummies?”
Julian shot his eldest son a look at that. “Weon nu dat dummeh. Pack nee’ nummies. Nee’ meat. Fwuffies am meat nummies an’ easy. Nee’ fin’ wun wit’ a mummah, tu. Nu kiww witeway, nee’ wet babbeh Wissette hab miwkies. Awmos big nuff fo’ nummies, bu’ nu yet.” When Leon shrugged, stepping back, Julian shook out his mane again, clearly unhappy. “Wite. Pack knu wat du, nao. Meet back hewe, eida wen fin’ wat wookin’ fo, ow wen dawktime fuww hewe. Den’ Pack tawk ‘gain.”
The fat orange mare trundled through the scrubby brush, litter of foals following her like ducklings, the coral colored unicorn at her heels nearly as round as she was. The pink unicorn taking up the rear continually picked up the lavender and blue stragglers, setting them back in the line. “Cheez baww? Am awmos wewe goin’? Babbehs am sweepy.”
“Nee’ find housie, speciew fwiend! Saw wooftop over twees, mus’ be dis way. Speciew fwiend wiww wub hab housie, and mummah ‘gain” She glanced back despite herself. “Gon’ gu to housie, an’ see mummah. Mummah gon’ see bestest babbeh and cheeze baww udda pwetty babbehs, an’ wiww gib wub and sketties’ gain.”
“…But babbeh’s sweepy nao. Nee’ stop fo’ dawk time, cheez’ baww.” He protested, picking up the lilac colored filly for the umpteenth time to set her back in with the others. “Wook, Fluffy gun go find nestie. And nummies. Wook fo’ housie in bwite time?” Dimly, he could remember having this conversation before. Like every time the brighttime was over, and the babies were tired, and she was still convinced she could find her house. Actually, they’d had similar conversations every night of the pregnancy, as well. Cheeseball was convinced her coming babies would make her mummah happy enough to let her back in… if they could just find the right house again. His special friend and mother of his babies just huffed slightly, slowing her pace so the other babies could catch up again, and he trotted off to find a spot. Oh, look, there were soft grass nummies, and a shady fallen tree to sleep under. This would do…and he could talk to Cheeseball about staying put and not continuing the search endlessly in the morning. Like always.
Cheered by the find, he followed his tracks back to where his special friend was still trundling down the path. Followed by the sort of orange baby she loved best, the other almost red babbeh, two blue babbehs, his personal favorite lilac filly, and…. Wait. Orange, other orange, blue, blue, lilac…. “Cheezbaww? Where am udda babbeh?” It was still one of his babbehs, even if it was the…
“Wat mean?” She paused, taking the same count he had. “Oh. Wewe poopie babbeh gu? Was wite in middw? Did babbeh go spworin’?” one of the blues pointed into the taller brush, and the grown fluffies shrugged at each other.
“Cheez baww gu dis way. Fwuffy fin’ nestie fo’ dawktime.Take babbehs. Fwuffy get udda babbeh.” His mate obligingly turned and headed down the indicated trail, and he stepped into the grass. Something smelled odd out here. Not like poopie or nummies, but…sharp. Like dust and the clean way Cheeseball had smelled when he first found her. He shook his head, still sniffing as he searched. After far too long, his ears were twitching with worry, when he finally heard a soft sound.
“Daddeh?” He followed the sound, finding his lost foal at the bottom of a small hole. No deeper than his own hock, but easily deep enough the little one hadn’t been able to get out on their own. A quick grab, and he had the little one on his back, where he could feel the sleepy hugs against his fluff.
Cheese ball was still on the trail when they got back, the orange babies moved to her back. “Speciew fwiend? Cheezbaww had twu bwu babbehs, wite?” she asked, clearly recounting her pile. “Bestest, awmos’ bestest, bwu, bwu, puwplw, poopie.” The lilac filly had already run at him, shivering slightly as the stallion sighed at the realization that indeed they were again short a baby.
“Fwuffy wan wost housie fwuffy fo’ speciaw fwiend. Wiww be gud mummah, nu matta wat fwuffy mummah say.” he muttered to himself, then nuzzled his orange mate. “Fwuffy will gu fin’ udda babbeh tu. Speciew fwiend…jus’ stay hewe, otay?” He started to head back into the tall grass, only to realize the filly was still pawing at his leg. “Babbeh am otay?”
“Bwack munsta ting!” she whined, still pawing at his leg and shaking. “Bwack munsta ting took sissy!” He pulled her close, glancing around with eyes wide… just in time to see what almost looked like a large, charcoal grey fluffy muzzle, reaching out of the grass behind his baffled orange mate to snag one of the orange babies off her back.
That lessening of weight got cheeseball’s attention, and she started screaming. “NUUUU! Wewe awmos’ bestest babbeh gu! Wan’ Babbeh! Gib back!” The monster in the grass straightened, twice, three times the size of a normal fluffy, grey and black and with the orange foal still gripped in teeth as sharp as a kitty munsta’s. But for all that…he looked like a big earthy fluffy, and the pink stallion backed up. “Uh….fwuffies am gud fwuffies, pwease nu be meany an’ gib babbeh back?”
There was a sound of almost laughter from behind him A black fluf- oh… Oh, that was the munsta thing, burgundy tipped wings flared wider than any wingie fluffies could and horn spiraled in silver and that almost red rising high over the mane the same color as the wingtips, a tail long as a kitty munsta’s lashing behind it, fringed in that same burgundy. It was laughing at him, those far too sharp teeth gleaming. It tipped it’s head, studying them with those slit pupiled eyes, far too much like a kitty munsta. “Mayb’ we gib babbeh back. If fwuffies du sometin’ fo’ Pack.” There was movement behind him, the orange babbeh wailing- before the black munsta’ gave the other one a look, and the grey earthy lowered his head a little. The smile the munsta wore became friendlier for a moment. “Hab babbeh, too. Babbeh hab nu mummah nao, bu’ stiww nee’ miwkies. Hoomin mummah hewp, bu’ nu can fin’ wite nao. Come wit, hewp feed babbeh, an’ Pack gib babbeh back.”
“NU! Munsta gib awmos’ bestest babbeh back NAO!” Cheeseball stamped one of her hooves, barely missing the one foal still sitting at her feet. The remaining blue babbeh squealed as it was nearly stomped, scrambling out of what it saw as the immediate danger zone, as the pink stallion opted to move his lilac baby up to his back as well. “Nu hewp munsta babbeh, miwkies fo’ gud babbehs”
The black munsta stretched his wings. “Wite. nyu offa.” Behind her, the grey earthy tossed his head, and with a scream and a sickening crunch, the orange babbeh went limp in that sharp toothed jaw. It was tossed carelessly aside, as Cheeseball dissolved into sobbing, rushing to cradle the broken form. Another high pitched wail, and the pink father’s eyes widened in horror as the massive earthy snatched the running blue baby as well. “Fwuffy hab udda babbehs. Wiww hewp Pack babbeh nao? Juwian an’ Weon can keep doin’ dis.”
Something in the pink fluffy broke, and he stared at the dead body his mate was cradling, going from sorrow to rage. “Nu huwt babbehs!” he ran at the smaller munsta, already raising a hoof. “Gib babbeh back nao ow gib sowwy hoofies! Fwuffy wiww gib wowstest huwties!”
Julian exhaled in an audible sigh, looking up at the sky in resignation before staring at the charging pink unicorn. “Weawwy?” His wings swatted out, sending his attacker sprawling back in a tumble, the foals on his back falling in a panicked, suddenly shit covered heap.Gingerly, he picked his way through it, picking up…
The fluffy father stared in horror at the sight of his barely two week old lilac filly in the black munsta’s teeth, before a split toed, hard hoof came down on his brown babbeh’s head.That sickening crunch seemed to echo through his mind, and he couldn’t quite make himself understand this. He’d just found a nestie, found nummies, and suddenly he had hurties, one of his babbehs’ was missing, and two of them were dead. “Pwease…pwease nu huwt puwpw babbeh, am gud babbeh……”
Another gutwrenching crunch, and the bigger one dropped the body of the last blue foal. “Juwian gab fwuffies offa. Gu wit an hewp Pack babbeh, ow wose udda babbehs.” He leaned in, grin far too fanged for comfort. “Weon am hab funsies. Pwease keep teww Pack nu.”
The stallion was frozen where he lay, staring at his babbehs.Cheeseball, on the other hand, lumbered forward, screaming almost incoherently at the bigger fluffies as she ran for the baby Julian held. Only to stumble, collapsing as Leon whirled and slammed a hind hoof into her foreleg. “Screeeeeee! Nu, why huwt weggie?” As she landed on the already broken limb, it shattered further, bone sticking out from the blood and fluff. Without a word, ignoring the sobbing and screaming, Leon grabbed the last orange babbeh, kicking her other front leg into an equally shattered mess before he walked over to Julian.
“Pwease…pwease nu mowe huwties?” the pink stallion whimpered, as the pack fluffies set the babbehs they were holding down. They looked at each other, before Leon picked up both surviving foals, setting them on the still screaming Cheeseball’s back before he sank teeth into her tail and started dragging her back down the path.
“Nu. Gab offa. Fwuffies say nu.” Julian waited for the half broken mare to be dragged out of sight, then dropped the dead foals on their father, one by one…stepping into the brush to collect the “lost” blue baby as well. He let the pink fluffy try to struggle back to his feet…only to rear, slamming both hard front hooves into it’s skull, one to each side of the horn. With a glance at the last fading bit of color in the sky, he grabbed a hind leg, dragging the dead along back to his pack as well.
He left the pile in the brush near the road, stepping back to join the others as Leon dragged in the still struggling Cheeseball. The pack all looked to him, and he drew his wings tight against his back as Sylvin and Geroud lit their horns, the glow with his own offering enough light to pick out the edges of the others. His pack. Humans were the pack alphas, the fluffy in charge of the pack their second, this is how it had always been. But…if there were no humans to go to and ask “wat du?”…Then….He had to be the alpha for the Pack here, until they could get back to their humans and he could go back to being Pack second.
Julian took a deep breath, relaxing his wings as he studied his Pack. The last of his littermates, Rowan, the dark grey earthy with the mane and tail a little more red than his own burgundy coloring. Leon, large and just as dark grey, mane as dark as his own, standing next to his own littermate Calixte, the pegasi with fluff as dark as Julian’s mane and bright silver mane and feathers. The colts his pack had been allowed to keep from his first litter. In the brush, his younger sons. Sylvin, the only one of his colts that had taken after him and had wings and horn, silver fluffed and black maned, was talking to Geroud, the unicorn with fluff the same color as his own mane, a mane as silver as his brother’s fluff.
And nestled into her uncle’s fluff between his wings, sleeping the fitful sleep of a hungry baby, was the youngest of them. Angelique had been his favorite of his first litter, clever little wingie pointy like him, but with the soft colors of her mother. Soft colors and feathers like the quiet-night- hoo-hoo birdies. He’d understood when Mister Bill had taken her aside, said he knew who to make her special friend to make the Pack even better, but every moment away from her was sad… Then she’d come back, so happy and bouncy about her tummy babies, even when it made her sickies, even when…. His clever baby hadn’t survived having the foals, and neither had any but the last. The same sunrise peach fluff, curly cinnamon mane, speckled brown wings like the little screamy nightbirds, just smaller, more fragile at the moment.
Julian gently picked her up, carrying her over to the orange mummah. “Gib Pack babbeh miwkies, an’ fwuffy can hab babbehs an gu.”
Intro- After the Pack- A demonfluff sequel. [Shadowfox]
next- The Mayfair pack, part 2. (Shadowfox)