Dud could only rasp awkwardly as she tried in vain to cry out, her ribs crushing against her lungs and Raptor’s hoof planting her firmly against the floor. Flailing her legs feebly, the little unicorn was still badly dazed from her time with Seth, only vaguely aware of what was happening but growing in panic as each pained breath became more and more difficult, her tiny frame slowly losing air as the pegasus above her pressed down harder.
“Waptow kno Dud am ba’ fwuffy…Gib huwties tu widdew sisse Candee’fwoss…Fwuffies dat gib huwties tu hewp’wess fwuffies am ba’…an’ Waptow kno wat daddeh do wiff ba’ fwuffies…”
Taking his hoof off of the foal, Raptor grunted as he shifted his hip, the effort paining him as he reared his back hooves and struck Dud with a vicious kick, sending the unicorn tumbling to the far end of the saferoom, the tiny fluff peeping with each bump before hitting the wall with a solid thud. Snorting slightly, Raptor ignored the screaming pain in his lower body and slowly trotted over to the fallen foal, his angry sneer growing as he grew closer to Dud.
“Waptow wus wike Dud wen daddeh taek Waptow home…Wus wowstest fwuffy an’ gib huwties an’ sowwy hoofsies tu widdew babbehs…Dats wen daddeh taek Waptow tu the ba’ pwace…”
Her head pounding from her blow against the wall, Dud sat on her haunches, hyperventilating as the pegasus slowly encroached on her, her tiny nubs flailing wildly as she struggled to scream, to somehow cry out for help.
“m…m…m…m…mu…”
She sobbed as the word stalled in her mouth, with her attempt cut off abruptly as Raptor struck her again, his hoof knocking her head violently against the wall. Her eyes bulged as it connected with the unpadded surface, with her gaze slowly becoming unfocused as her left eye began to drift about independently from the right.
“Bestest mummah Cy’cwops nu hewp ba’ fwuffies nu mowe…dat maek tings eben wowse fow fwuffies…”
Unsure what was happening to her, Dud struggled to get back up, her thoughts becoming sluggish and strange. It was so hard to see, with her left eye out of her control and her whole body aching from all the abuse it had taken. Now up on her hooves, the unicorn stared towards her attacker, struggling to recall who the pegasus was or why he was so angry with her.
“m…m…m…m…”
Either oblivious or indifferent to her plight, Raptor reached down and bit down on her scruff, painfully hefting the foal upward before shaking her back and forth brutally, the tiny unicorn trying to shriek as she was hurtled through the air with each torque of Raptor’s neck. Unable to force even a peep or chirp from her lips, Dud could only babble weakly as she was throttled, with each second of torment causing her to lapse deeper and deeper into the strange and frightening stupor that was slowly claiming her thoughts. Who was this cruel fluffy? And why was he hurting her? It was so hard to focus with him flailing her by the nape of her neck, but she could just make out a fluffpile sleeping nearby, the large purple mare at it’s center seeming almost familiar. Something stirred within Dud, some distant notion that if she could get the mare’s attention, everything would be okay.
“mmm!..m…m…m…”
It was as though her very words were caught in her throat, the foal choking on them as she stuttered, her nubs flailing towards the purple earthie. After what seemed like an eternity, Raptor finally relented, letting the foal dangle from his mouth as he slowly walked towards the litterbox.
“Waptow kno wat daddeh am nao…hab tu wearn the hawd way’…If fwuffies am gud…den daddeh am daddeh…buh if fwuffies am ba’…”
Reaching his hoof within, Raptor dug through the litter, making a trench just large enough for Dud before letting her fall free of his mouth. Squeaking slightly as she struck the plastic bin, the filly slowly looked up towards him, her eyes mismatched as she reached out with her nubs, warbling weakly as she silently begged to be helped back up.
“…den daddeh am munstah…an’ Waptow nu wetchu maek daddeh a munstah 'gain…”
Turning around, he slowly began to kick the depression he’d dropped her in full, the unicorn sputtering and coughing as she was struck with litter. Not stopping until she was buried with only her face free, the pegasus leaned in close, the confused foal struggling in vain to look away.
“mmm! m…m…m…m…mmm!”
“…Gudbye ba’ fwuffy…”
Gently placing his hoof beside her, Raptor swept the last bit of litter over Dud’s face, silencing the filly for good. Sighing to himself, the pegasus lingered there, his head low for a long time before finally hobbling back towards the fluffpile, snuggling up between Cyclops and Candyfloss. His mind awash with the awful thing he had done, he looked down towards the filly, the little half-foal yawning in her sleep before sniffling slightly and stretching out towards him. Putting a hoof around her, Raptor smiled, his guilt slowly fading away as he drifted off to sleep.
It hadn’t taken long for Seth to put together what had happened to Dud. After he’d woken up to feed the saferoom fluffies, Cyclops had been on edge and asked him when he was bringing the troublesome unicorn back. Not wanting to overly upset her, Seth simply said she was still being punished. As he made sure that they had enough kibble and water, it was Domino who made it clear where the filly was. His tiny muzzle in the air near the plastic box, the colt sniffed near the litter pile and began to whimper and shake, curling up on the floor.
“*chirp…*chirp…boo-boo joo’se…scaw’ee…*chirp…*chirp…”
Having reverted to a peeping, startled mess, Seth leant over and picked Domino up, carrying him over to the pillowbed to wait for Cyclops and Raptor to finish their breakfast. As he went back to the litterbox and used a nearby scoop to sift through it, he could see how nervous it was making the one winged pegasus, his eyes on Seth as he lapped up some water. Sure enough, after a few moments he found Dud’s body, cold and rigid, her eyes wide and glassy with a frightened, almost confused expression frozen on her face. Her body was in far worse shape than Seth had left her, with a portion of her skull caved in, and one of her eyes cast in the wrong direction. Between her punishment and whatever the hell Raptor did to her, it must have been too much for her mind to take…thought Seth as he lifted the plastic bin, careful to tilt it away from the fluffies, lest they see the unicorn’s corpse.
Seth had seen it before. It was referred to as Rapid Onset Retardation in medical communities but abusers often called the fluffies that suffered it as Derped. Sometimes a fluffy would simply suffer too much punishment all at once, be it physical, mental, or both. While many fluffies that suffered that level of abuse would go wan die, some would instead be stressed to the point of stroke or aneurysm. Usually fatal in humans, a fluffy’s increased survivability combined with their quick recovery meant that they would almost always live through it, but would never be the same. A steep decrease in mental capabilities, loss of memories, coordination, bowel and bladder control, not to mention the inability to speak coherently. Seth had sent many fluffies past the point of no return in his early days as an abuser, with most becoming suicidal and going wan die, but a few had simply cracked under the pressure. Their eyes would loll a bit and then one would never synch up quite right with the other again, the pitiful creature now reduced to a babbling mess. And while they still reacted to torment and torture, it just wasn’t the same.
“…Daddeh? Wai am daddeh taek’n wittah box?”
Lost in his thoughts, Seth looked down to see that Cyclops had finished her breakfast, the mare now staring up towards him, confused as to why he was carrying the plastic bin. “…Oh?! I was just going to empty it for you…that’s all sweety…” Still perplexed, the one eyed earthie tilted her head slightly as her gaze shifted from her owner to the wastebin.
“…Buh daddeh sai dat wittah box taek way’ gud poopies aww by itsewf…”
Shit… “…That’s right, Cyclops! But it’s…it’s broken…and I need to empty it and then fix it for you…” Unprepared for how oddly astute the fluffy mother could be at times, Seth was relieved to see her simply smile and nod, accepting the makeshift lie.
“Otay daddeh! Tank yu fow maek’n dah wittah box aww bettah! Wuv yu!”
And with that, Cyclops turned around, the foals now ready for their breakfast, with Domino and Candyfloss eating first while Powder Keg sat on his haunches, staring longingly at his hoof and tearing up at the sight of the small battery affixed to it. Seeing that Raptor was also done with his meal, his eyes still occasionally darting between the litterbox and his owner, Seth decided it was best to separate the pegasus from the others before he asked what had happened. “Hey, Raptor! I think I could use your help…why don’t you come with me?” It was clear by the brief bit of panic at hearing his voice, followed by his head drooping down that he knew that Seth had found the body, the shame of it written all over his face.
“…Otay…”
Hobbling slowly, Raptor walked up beside Seth as he opened the fence for the crippled pegasus, careful to close it behind him, just in case. He was shocked by how brave Raptor was being, with the fluff usually being a coward, now marching to what could be his death. Once they were clear of the saferoom and in the kitchen, Seth walked over to the sink, placing the wastebin beside it and gestured for Raptor to come stand beside him. “…Over here.” Taking the body , he held it just above him, the pegasus wincing as he saw Dud’s cadaver dangling near his face. “I want you to explain this…right now!” Breathing heavily, Raptor looked down towards the floor, tears falling down his face.
“…Waptow gib Dud foweba sweepies…Dud wus…wus a ba’ fwuffy…gib meanie huwties tu sisse Candee’fwoss…Waptow nu wike…”
“That’s true Raptor…that’s very true…but I punished her already for that…That’s daddy’s job, Raptor…and I punished her because she was hurting fluffies without my permission…which is exactly what you did…You have anything to say for yourself?”
“D…Daddeh teww Waptow dat it am Waptow’s job tu keep babbehs safe…”
“…I’m listening…” Seth was stunned that the pegasus was able to even speak. It hadn’t been that long ago that Raptor was a prisoner in the hobby room, screaming nearly nonstop and in constant fear for his life. But here he was, knowing full well that he had broken the rules, and what Seth was capable of, and still he seemed more brokenhearted than frightened.
“…Babbehs nu safe wiff Dud…Wus a ba’ fwuffy…Waptow kno dat daddeh nu wike ba’ fwuffies…”
“…You’re not wrong there, Raptor. Daddy hates bad fluffies…”
“…So, Waptow keep babbehs safe…Gib Dud foweba sweepies su nu can huwties Candee’fwoss nu mowe…”
“And you think that was the right thing to do?” The sullen pegasus had Seth genuinely curious at this point. It wasn’t often a fluffy killed another fluffy, at least not without some sort of motivation, be it an abuser forcing it on them, or ferals just trying to survive.
“…Nu…buh Waptow wuv wittew sisse…P’wease taek cawe of Candee’fwoss aftah Waptow am gown…Candee’fwoss am gud fwuffy…”
“After you’re gone? Where are you going Raptor?”
“…Waptow am ba’ fwuffy 'gain…daddeh gowna be a munsta 'gain an gib Waptow foweba sweepies…”
“Who said I was going to kill you…I’m not going to kill you.”
“…Weawwy? Daddeh nu am mad?”
“Well, I am disappointed that Dud is gone. And you were wrong to kill her without my permission…but I think your heart was in the right place. So, no punishment this time Raptor…” Seth wrapped the dead unicorn in a paper towel before dropping the body in the trash, enjoying the look of existential dread on the pegasus’ face as he watched the bundled corpse fall into the refuse. Washing his hands thoroughly, Seth dried them off before hefting the bin upright, motioning once again for Raptor to follow. “…but I won’t be as nice next time you mess up…”
Seth returned the litterbox to it’s rightful place in the saferoom, assuring the worried fluffies that it was functional once more. He gave a bit of attention to Cyclops and Candyfloss before he stood back up to leave, needing to attend his other foals, not to mention getting breakfast. Once Kismet had been fed and a fresh bit of salve applied to his skin, Seth warmed some formula for Frostbite, the sensitive little pillowfoal still acting strange and oddly sullen. Spending a few minutes petting and trying to sweetly coax it out of the colt again, Seth was met with nothing but whimpering sobs and muted peeps once more. It was seeming more and more that whatever was vexing Frostbite would have to sort itself out, if the pillow was even salvageable at this point.
Relieved that it was his day off, Seth opted to be a little lazier than usual, deciding on cereal for breakfast rather than cooking something. Sitting back and enjoying some bran flakes with raisins, Seth thought back to how close he’d come to killing Dud in front of Candyfloss. If not for the little halfpillow speaking up, he was almost certain he would have crushed her in his bare hand. And while he wouldn’t have lost any sleep over her death, he would have felt horrible if he had traumatized Candyfloss. It was the change in routine, it was getting to him. Without an outlet for his abusive nature with the fragile fluffs, it was busting out at the seams. Just having a pair of traumatized fluffies like Ash and Starburst around the house had let him save the very worst until the fourth every year, the anniversary of when Seth had first become an abuser. By simply teasing them, lightly tormenting them everyday, his need had been met. But now, it wasn’t enough. Even before Kismet’s accident and Frostbite becoming near catatonic, it just wasn’t the same without Ash and his former mate.
One thing was for certain. Seth needed a new outlet. He couldn’t risk losing control in front of his good fluffies again. Finishing his breakfast, he rinsed and dried his bowl, contemplating his options when he heard his phone begin to chime. If they try to call me in today, I swear to God… Seth dried his hands and pulled out his phone. It was a message from Jerome. Noticing the time, he realized the kid would be clocking in soon at the hardware store. Assuming it to be another simple fluffy question, Seth tapped the icon, gasping when he saw the boy’s message.
“Help! Bullet’s gone into labor! I don’t know what to do!”