This is a continuation of a previous series called The Fourth of July.
If you haven’t read that first, you might be missing some details about the overall plot.
Plus I’m just really proud of it, so if you’re looking for a good read, why not give it a look.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! SOWWY!!! ASH SOWWY!!! NU MOWE HUWTIES!!!”
After the brief series of light but firm strikes against the stallion’s rear, Ash whimpered as his hooves fell to his raw backside, the pained fluff peering upwards towards Seth, sorry-stick in hand. “I’m sorry to do it little buddy. You know I don’t like to punish you but when you try and disobey, you leave me no choice.” Putting the plastic swatter away for the moment, lest it’s presence upset his fluffy further, Seth knelt over and placed his hand on the stallion, the fluffy cooing against his hand despite his recent punishment. “Now, can you tell me what you did wrong, Ash?” Sniffling even as he nuzzled his owner’s hand, Ash looked down at the safe-room floor, not wanting to meet Seth’s disappointed gaze.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…Ash…Ash nu wisten tu daddeh…*huuu…huuu…huuu…Daddeh teww Ash dat Ash hab tu gu way’ wiff’owt daddeh ow widdew mummah…*huuu…huuu…huuu…Buh daddeh…Ash nu wan weeb…wan stay wiff yu…”
“Now Ash that is enough! I have already explained and explained why you have to go to daycare. Tomorrow’s the fourth and there are going to be fireworks buddy, and I know how easily frightened fluffies are. Now Starburst and your foals are already there…I took them earlier this morning but wasn’t enough room for all of you. Now are you going to be a good fluffy and follow me out to the car, or am I going to have to crate you?” Hearing the word crate clearly upset the young stallion, as his ears drooped and his head lowered.
“…Ash nu wike sowwy box…”
“Well if you don’t want to be crated, then you’ll have to behave.” Putting the plastic sorry-stick away, Seth double checked that he had everything he’d need before dropping Ash off for the day. Once he was satisfied that there was nothing he was forgetting, Seth took a short lead off the key rack next the front door, leaning over as he clasped it onto the stallion’s collar. “Alright bud, you ready to go?” Clearly still shook from his recent punishment, Ash stared somberly at the floor as Seth affixed the lead to him, making sure that the collar wasn’t too tight not too loose.
“…Ash nu wan gu…”
Sighing as he stood up, Seth pondered if he had been too rough with the sullen little fluff. “I know you don’t little guy. It’s not fair, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to Ash.” Giving the lead a gentle tug, Seth beckoned the fluffy to follow him, walking to the front door. Upset at the thought of being separated from his owner, Ash tried in vain to pull away as Seth strode closer to the door, his hooves sliding against the hardwood floor as he attempted to back away.
“Nu wan gu! Ash nu wan gu! Nu wan!!! Nu wan!!! Nu wan!!!”
“…no one before lunch is unprecedented, especially for you, Mr.Nocere…”
“Wh…what?” Seth shook his head slightly, his mind on days gone by as he suddenly realized he was being spoken to. Peering past his computer screen, he noticed Brandon Southers, his company’s Synergy Coordinator staring past Seth’s cubicle walls.
“Not a single client before lunch? Your job, Mr.Nocere? Selling software upgrades may not be the most noble of professions but we do pay you do do it…” Before Seth could retort, Brandon turned around and walked away, leaving Seth to seethe. “Asshole…” Muttering under his breath, Seth tried to shake off his growing frustration and went back to work.
Despite how angry he was at his superior, Seth knew that he wasn’t wrong. He had been distracted since the disaster several nights ago. All that planning, all his work, and in the end, he lost Ash, Starburst and Plucky. That first morning, Seth had nearly forgotten, making his way to the back of his apartment to feed them, only to realize once again that they were gone. It was an odd emotion, to miss something that he had been so fervently cruel and terrible to, but Seth had grown accustomed to the daily torment of the pair, the consistent joy allowing him to save the heavier and more costly abuse for his time off.
With his work schedule, Seth had fallen back into his more mundane routine around the house. With his older fluffies gone, he now tended instead to Cyclops and her new foals. The sweet and gentle mare’s presence helped Seth deal with losing his other fluffies and in turn Seth’s daily affections aided in Cyclops getting past the loss of her other foals, blissfully unaware that Seth had absconded with and blown them up in his Fourth of July celebration.
Raptor had recovered as best he could from Seth’s brutal assault, a punishment for trying to run off with Candyfloss. Still alive, the one winged pegasus’ had only been able to limp and hobble about. Whether his injuries were permanent or not, time would only tell, but it hadn’t effected his newfound role as the fluffy’s protector. Now far more anxious than before, the pegasus rarely relaxed, even waking in the middle of the night, fearful that the barking monster may return.
And never far from the ever vigilant pegasus was Domino, his adopted brother. Ever attentive, the excitable foal would follow Raptor wherever he went, peeping as he waited for the crippled pegasus to catch up, possibly too young to comprehend the true extent of his injuries. His speech becoming more advanced everyday, the colt would now constantly barrage Seth with questions that at times were cute but more often than not taxed his patience. Indeed if not for how much Candyfloss loved both Domino and Raptor, Seth would have killed the pair days ago.
It certainly complicated matters, that was for sure. Once Candyfloss had mistaken her would be liberator for her new brother, it made Seth’s plans for Raptor more difficult. Wanting to torture the pegasus with the thought of a better life before brutally ending it, Seth had to settle for more subtle cruelties. A small pinch here, a squeezed hoof there, but always followed by Seth smiling and apologizing for the accident. With all the anguish, mental and physical that Raptor had suffered while he had lived in the hobby-room, the pegasus would tremble for hours, the pain a grim reminder of what Seth had been and more importantly what he could be again.
Still, if it made Candyfloss happy, then Seth could suffer the annoyances of Raptor and Domino. Like Cyclops, he’d taken a shine to the little two-tone filly. Doting on her every second that he had to spare, Candyfloss adored Seth, unaware of his cruel nature. There had been setbacks of course, as the filly would become dour whenever she was reminded of the loss of her front hooves, which was often due to her mobility issues. But that had been part of Seth’s plan when he had maimed her in secret, blaming the incident on her now dead mother, Sassy. Prone to crying herself into a near stupor, Seth would then swoop in to cheer her up, making the filly love him all the more. He also encouraged Cyclops to lavish her with attention when he couldn’t, usually while he was at work, singing to her, as well as carrying her around the saferoom, albeit on her back instead of with her mouth.
It was so strange that not long ago, the saferoom that had housed Starburst was now the new home for Cyclops and the others. Seth had cleaned it thoroughly, wanting even the faintest trace of the previous agonies that happened within wiped away for his new fluffies. Still, even after an entire evening’s work, Seth saw Raptor shudder slightly after sniffling the air, as though he could sense the horrors that had happened within. Regardless, the fluffies took well to their new habitat, especially the younger foals who had survived Seth’s fireworks display. Both had opened their eyes, almost on the same day, and were asonished at how wonderous their new saferoom was.
Seth had given the gray colt the name Powder Keg, which amused him to no end. Lethargic for a foal, the colt was quite content to spend most of his time lying around or cuddling against the other fluffies. When unable to find a fluffy to cuddle, he would instead use one of the stuffy friends that Seth had purchased when refurnishing the saferoom. The real hilarity came when Seth had dropped a bag of feed outside the fencing, the abrupt sound startling all of the fluffies, but causing Powder Keg to scream, the colt running around in a mad panic. His eyes wide as he ran frantic circles in the enclosure, it dawned on Seth that the poor little fluff remembered the rooftop, the loud noise triggering a grim flashback to the tumultuous fireworks as his siblings died one by one. Despite not quite knowing what had happened, it was clear that night had left it’s mark on Powder Keg, as even in his sleep, the colt tossed and turned as he chirped and peeped nervously, often leading to accidents that Cyclops had to tend to.
His sister on the other hand, was blissfully unaware of whatever memory haunted Powder Keg’s mind. Calling the filly unicorn Dud, Seth had noticed that the brown little foal was far more energetic than her brother, often stumbling and tripping over her own nubs as she tried to keep up with the older fluffies during playtime. However, Seth was far less amused when Dud had bitten Candyfloss’ ear, the unicorn angry that there was only one ball small enough for the foals to play with, and that she had to share it. Cyclops had been aghast, trotting over to the pair as Candyfloss cried, her back legs kicking wildly in a fearful panic. But Seth had stopped her, telling the mare that once the babies could talk, that they were old enough for him to punish.
He could tell from the expression on Cyclops’ face that she was clearly upset by the idea of Dud being punished, her thoughts drifting back to Seth’s assault on Raptor. But a stern look was all it took for the mare to back down, leaving the small and nervous unicorn to Seth’s tender mercies. Angry that Dud had not only frightened Candyfloss, but had also hurt her, he wanted her to learn that fluffies weren’t allowed to hurt one another, not without Seth’s permission at least.
Picking Dud up by her still forming scruff, the small unicorn peeping as she flailed her nubs in the air, Seth carried her over the enclosure’s fencing, his fingers pinching into the nape of the foal’s neck as she squirmed against him.
“*chirp…*chirp…ba’ upsies!!! *screeeeeee!!! nuuuuuuu!!! *chirp…*chirp…wet dud gu!!! wet dud gu!!! …*chirp…*chirp…”
Taking her to a small table that he’d placed in the corner of the saferoom, Seth let her tumble slightly as he dropped her a few inches from the top, the unicorn screeching as she struck the plastic table.
“*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…ow’e huw’tees!!! *chirp…*chirp…mu’mah!!! sab’ ba’beh!!! *chirp…*chirp…”
Peeping as she rose to her underdeveloped hooves, the terrified unicorn could see Cyclops within the pen from the height of the table, the panic stricken foal reaching out for her as she mewled. Likewise able to see the unicorn, Cyclops whimpered slightly, her lip trembling but didn’t dare to question Seth, memories of her own punishment still fresh in her mind. Saddened by what was to come, the mare could only mutter lightly under her breath as her daddy prepared to discipline the foal.
“Cy’cwops sowwy babbeh…”
Seth smiled as he leered down at the trembling foal, his fingers lightly rapping against the plastic table as he took the unicorn’s terror, almost forgetting how wonderous it felt. With it abundantly clear that Cyclops wasn’t coming to save her, Dud lost what little composure the foal had left, shrieking madly as she tried to escape, only to find the table’s edge, the dizzying height causing her to wet herself as she backed away slowly.
“*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…tu hi!!! ba’beh tu hi!!! *chirp…*chirp…”
“Your name is Dud!” Seth’s shout prompted a sudden yelp from the unicorn, the foal curling up and trying to press against the table, her nubs covering her face. “You are too old to be calling yourself a baby! And only a bad fluffy doesn’t use the name their daddy gave them!”
“*chirp…*chirp…sow’ee!!! dud sow’ee da’deh!!! *chirp…*chirp…nu huw’‘tees dud!!! *chirp…*chirp…pwe’!!!”
“Oh you’ll be sorry all right…” Muttering as he leaned over, Seth began to rifle through the small box of items he had recently purchased when he was working on the saferoom. Taking out a small plastic rod, Seth struck it firmly against the table, causing Dud to yelp, her chirps and peeps now frantic as the foal seemed no longer capable of speaking. “So let’s tally them up shall we…First you hurt your sister Candyfloss…scared her… all because you didn’t want to share…” With each and every rule that Seth scolded the unicorn for breaking he struck the table again, the foal wincing and shaking with each strike. “…Trying to get away from your daddy…peeing outside the litterbox…not to mention trying to tell your daddy what to do…tsk, tsk…” Without even looking away, Seth could tell the last one struck a chord with Cyclops, who had learned that lesson the hard way as well.
“So counting it all up, I figure that ten hits with the sorry-stick should teach you to be a better fluffy…” Using two fingers, Seth pressed the filly against the table, the foal screeching as her torso was pressed uncomfortably against the cold plastic table. Pulling back on the small sorry-stick, Seth could feel the eyes of the other fluffies upon him, trying their best to be silent, not wanting to be punished as well. It had been part of the reason Seth had bought what he called the punishment table, a cold, slick plastic table that any fluffy would find horribly uncomfortable, and clearly visible from anywhere in the room, allowing others to see what fate could befall them if they misbehaved.
Cracking the small plastic rod against the small unicorn’s rump, Dud’s eyes bulged, the foal shrieking from the awful blow.
“*screeeeeee!”
“We do not hurt other fluffies unless daddy says so!” Not giving Dud a moment’s reprieve, Seth struck again, the horrified foal peeping and chirping as the second blow hit, a fresh welt already beginning to form. “We share our toys like a good fluffy!”
“*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…nu huw’te ba’be!!! *chirp…*chirp…”
“You are not a baby anymore! You are old enough to talk, and nearly old enough to eat kibble now!” Winding up again, Seth aimed for the bruised flesh and struck, the unicorn screaming and flailing under his hand. "You are NEVER to try and run away from daddy!!!
“*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…nu mowe…*chirp…*chirp…nu mowe pwe’!!!”
Scowling as he heard the pleas of the foal, Seth struck again quickly, the blow causing Dud to writhe as her rump ached, the filly struggling to catch her breath. “And we certainly DO NOT tell daddy what to do!!!” Lifting her off the table, Seth took hold of her by the torso, holding her tightly as he administered the last strikes in rapid, unrelenting succession.
“*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…*screeeeeee!!! *chirp…*chirp…*screeeeeee!!!”
Once finished, Seth unfurled his hand, the filly shaking as she laid against his palm, only peeping as her eyes ran wet with tears, being far too traumatized to open them. Clearly anticipating more agony, Dud had covered her face with her nubs, trying to curl up against her belly as she wept. Holding her next to his face so she could easily hear him, Seth gently whispered in her ear. “Next time, play nice…or it’ll be even worse…” Seth could only grin as the peeping mass of fluff in his hand trembled harder. Walking back to the enclosure, Seth offered the foal to Cyclops. “You need to make sure this doesn’t happen again sweety. If your foals can’t behave like good fluffies…well you know how we feel about bad fluffies in this house…”
Trying to hold back her own tears, the mare gently took Dud in her hooves, trying to hush the frightened peeps of the battered foal.
“It am otay babbeh Dud…*Shh…babbeh nu peepsies nu mowe nao…Babbeh wus ba’. Nu gib huwties tu odah fwuffies nu mowe…”
It probably wasn’t helping matters that Cyclops kept calling them babies, thought Seth as he made his way over the fence, walking over to the fluffpile around Raptor. Eying the pegasus, the young stallion looked on edge when he noticed Seth’s approach, leaning over and scooping Candyfloss gently up in his hooves, grunting as his body ached from the effort.
“Wo…wook daddeh. Widdew fiwwy Candee’fwoss am otay…Nu…nu wees’in fow daddeh tu hab maddies nao…wite?”
Having cried herself to sleep, the two-toned filly was only lightly peeping in Raptor’s grasp. Smiling nervously, the pegasus kept his eyes squarely on Seth, afraid to look away. Reaching towards him, Raptor yelped slightly, pulling Candyfloss into his chest as he flinched away from whatever imagined attack he thought was coming his way. Grinning, Seth placed his hand on the pegasus’ neck, lightly petting his mane as the colt untensed. “That’s very good Raptor. I’m glad I can count on you little guy.” As Seth gave the fluffy some light affection, Domino came bounding from behind Raptor, followed by Powder Keg lazily wobbling after, his hoof occasionally in his mouth as he peered around anxiously.
“Da’deh…wai gib huw’tees? Am fwuffy ba’?”
“*chirp…*chirp…tu scaw’ee…*chirp…*chirp…nu wike…”
Taking his hand and lightly rubbing his finger against the little white foal, Seth hid his annoyance at yet another question from Raptor’s younger brother. “Well my little Domino…I had to give her hurties because she did a very bad thing. Now hopefully, she’ll think twice before misbehaving.”
“Wai fwuffy du ba’ ting?”
“I can’t say for sure little buddy…only that she didn’t want to share her toys…”
“Wai?”
Smiling to hid his growing frustration, Seth fought the urge to press his hand down against the inquisitive foal. “…Because she made a mistake. It’s bound to happen every now and then, but once a fluffy sees that something is wrong, then they should never make that mistake again, ok?”
“Otay da’deh. Dom’nu wuv yu!”
And just like that the foal scampered away, giggling as he trotted over to Raptor’s side, hugging against his side and cooing softly. Powder Keg however was still staring towards Seth, sitting on his haunches as he suckled his hoof, occasionally peering towards his sister, still being held and cradled by Cyclops.
“*chirp…*chirp…siss’e otay? …*chirp…*chirp…nee’ hugg’ees? *chirp…*chirp…”
“Well she was a very bad fluffy…” Seth put a great deal of emphasis on the word bad, clearly making the gray colt upset, as his free hoof began to rap against the padded floor, his eyes widening as he used his cracked hoof to muffle his scardy peeps. “…But I think that a hug from you would cheer her up Powder Keg. That’s a great idea.” Slightly shaken from the conversation, the colt simply rose upright, his hoof still occasionally finding it’s way into his mouth as he ambled towards Dud and his mother, his gaze shifting back towards Seth several times before arriving.
Making sure that the food bowls were filled and that the litterboxes were still clean, Seth then gave Cyclops some love before making his way out of the saferoom, not wanting to disturb Candyfloss’ slumber. It had pleased him that one of his foal’s had stepped out of line so brazenly, the lack of abuse getting to him. Sad that his favorite foal had to suffer for it, he made a mental note to give the two-toned filly some sort of treat to make up for it.
And it had felt so liberating, punishing Dud. Between her pained screams and her obvious terror, Seth almost felt like his old self again. Still, it was odd to hope for a disobedient fluffy, especially one kept with the rare ones that Seth actually cared for. Even now as he coasted off the high that was the unicorn’s misery, Seth was well aware that he couldn’t overdo it with the fluffies in the saferoom, not all at once and not like with his other fluffies from before. The moment he decided to give in to those urges on Cyclops’ ilk, there would be no doubt that he’d lose the ones he cared for. It was difficult enough to show what little restraint he had during Dud’s sorry-sticking, but Seth fought the urge to push it farther than it needed to, maybe hitting her harder than he should have but resisted hitting her as hard as he wanted to.
It was already getting late, with Seth having only gotten home a few hours ago. He’d still have to tend to his pillowfoal, Frostbite. And not to mention Kismet would be starving by now. Of course whether or not the lucky foal got to eat was another story altogether. As Seth made his way towards his hobby-room, his phone began to chime, a sound that was quite rare for him to hear. While Seth used it on a near daily basis to speak to his co-workers, friends, and so on, they would usually send him a text, as opposed to now, which was an actual call. Pulling the device free from his pocket, Seth sighed as he saw Jerome’s name across the screen. With everything that had happened the fourth, Seth had canceled their plans for the ninth, and the kid hadn’t taken it well. After a few angry and quite colorful messages, the kid had all but ghosted Seth, refusing to answer or respond. Clicking the screen, Seth took a breath before speaking, not wanting to upset his young friend more than he already had. “Kiddo, finally! Look, about last night…I’m sorry I had to cancel on you but…”
“Seth? Seth, dude you gotta listen…I…I think I fucked up big time…”
