You work in a state run fluffy shelter
It’s a living, pays decent enough
Plus you feel a little empathetic for the poor bastards.
You’d need a bit of empaty on this job considering what goes on in it
Emaciated fluffies. Depressed fluffies. And of course, having to say goodbye when they don’t make it. But you do your job to the best of your abilities.
Makes great experience on your CV as well
You aren’t the most experienced person on staff. But you’ve been willing to learn and quickly are getting experienced in fluffy care.
Ever since the breach, there’s been a huge demand to keep the fluffy population under control
They tried keeping fluffies in regular animal shelters
The other animals saw fluffies as toys and treated them as such
So there ended up being a lot of dead fluffies
Not a pretty sight when their owners came to pick up their lost fluffy
Fluffy corpses lined the streets as they were unable to survive, but their absurdly high reproduction rates kept them going.
This caused a surge in other invasive species
Rats, Foxes, Raccoons, even coyotes started having population booms with the amount of fluffies to snack on.
Pop up shelters soon sprung up to try manage the population of ferals and surrenders from homes who couldn’t put up with a fluffy any more.
Some of your colleagues including the manager worked for them
It was Easy “Veterinary” experience for recent graduates since you could make mistakes on a bio toy you couldn’t on a real animal
They describe old war stories, like the overcrowding and the smell. Orphaned foals dying en masse because of no milk. Emaciated ferals begging for food. Domestics losing their minds because they were abandoned. Real gruesome stuff
But times and changed and things have improved
The state took over shelters after microchipping and identification laws were brought in
Means every fluffy gets microchipped and every buyer has to register on a government database.
Lost fluffies get returned to their owners if they are brought in and the owners want them back.
Otherwise the owners sign them over to you.
There’s now less fluffies to manage and the shelter is a more pleasant place thanks to the extra funding it brings in.
Shelter workers are paid better as well. Helps keep morale high
Most are ferals, but you still have surrendered fluffies from domestic families if the fluffy can’t stop misbehaving or they have to give them up for some reason
But overall the fluffies are happy while they are here.
It’s dry, warm and they get food, water and shelter. And most importantly, other fluffies to interact with.
You give them a lot of encouragement to be good fluffies. Lots of petting and enforcing of positive learning behaviour
You need them to be the best fluffies they can be if they want to be adopted.
See this shelter is not a no kill shelter though. Every fluffy has a limited amount of time before they are euthanized.
Every adult fluffy gets a sell by date depending on its coloring and temperament
Good behaved fluffies with good colors get the most time, up to two or even three months as breeders may decide to pick them up.
Bad colors get about two weeks. A month if they have really good behavior.
Foals are always in demand so they are always allowed to grow to adulthood before a timer is put on them no matter what color they are.
It’s not out of charity either. Bad colored foals seem to know their place and get adopted when showing good behavior and personality compared to the good colored foals.
Be it to a home that wants them or to an abuser who wants to break them.
Shelter policy is not to tell the fluffies when they are going to be euthanized. They are a lot more pleasant not knowing when time is up, are more relaxed when talking to potential adopters and don’t turn into neurotic messes worrying when they might be going “Forever Sleepies”.
If fluffies don’t get adopted. It’s a quick and painless death by heavy sedation then gassing.
It’s a lot easier to clean up than other methods
You pick up the fluffies marked for death after the shelter has closed and it’s sleeping time for the fluffies
Fluffies sleep deeply so it’s easy to pick out the ones who need to be euthanized without waking the others up.
You bring them into a room with a brightly lit box filled with colorful paintings, a couple of toys.
They think it’s a haven and keeps them calm.
They all do their poops in a litter box before being put in the container.
You feed them a bowl of spaghetti for their last meal. It’s a small comfort
But the spaghetti is also laced with heavy sedatives.
The fluffies fall into a deep sleep pretty easy.
You close the thick glass window that seals them in the box and the gas takes care of the rest.
Of course, that’s just for stallions and foals that won’t make it due to illness that is.
Mares aren’t so fortunate. They get sent off to the fluffy milk factory if they need mares or milk bagged for shelter usage if there are too many foals that need to be fed.
It’s ugly but there’s way too many orphaned foals brought in and not enough milk to go round even if you are lucky enough to have a mare who lost her foals.
At the very least their eyes aren’t taken and the high turnover means shelter policy is that milk bags are only to be in use for three months before being euthanized.
They only suffer for about three months before being put down in the chamber with a bowl of spaghetti. So it could be worse.
A fortunate few mares get gassed if the factory and shelter don’t need them. They are the lucky ones.
A few exemplary mares get chosen as dam attendants for pregnant fluffies or to mind the foal pens. But that job only comes around once every few years. So of course most don’t make it.
The fluffy milk factory tends to be a large sponsor as well. So you have an arrangement in place so they help keep you funded in exchange for unwanted mares.
Smarties are watched for their behavior. Put in isolation if they are runaways or are well behaved so they can’t command their herd.
Even good smarties will be paranoid about a food source and might command their former herd to hoard the food out of fear it may be taken away by rivals.
Most good smarties can be talked around and placed in general population if they can lead their herd to behave.
Bad smarties have their neck snapped quickly.
No point on them causing havoc in the shelter and encouraging their herd to rebel out of fear.
No discrimination between owners and abusers who want to adopt either. Just making sure they are registered.
Just as long as it keeps the fluffy off the streets and not causing accidents or encouraging really invasive species like rats.
Most people are thankful for the service of the shelter. The streets are a lot cleaner with it.
Helps with donations along with state funding.
Fluffies in the shelter are considered shelter property as well
It’s why you allow pregnant mares brought in to foal.
They pop an Alicorn and the shelter is funded even further.
Breeders line up around the block if they hear about Alicorn genes
And the funding that comes with it really helps pay the bills
All in all. It’s a well run shelter.
You do have some abusers who try to fuck around though
An incident like that happened just this last week
It was a surrender so you went over the usual checks.
Single young guy wearing a cap. Obviously an abuser sick of their toy but doesn’t want to be identified.
Family surrenders usually have a lot more weeping children and/or tired parents giving up the fluffy.
The fluffy being surrendered is a white fluffy with a blue mane called Snowball
Very good colors and a reasonable name. Must have been bought from a breeder. Abusers can spend big just to break fluffies groomed for a good life.
You take a look over him. Couple of scars at first glance. But seems oddly happy. RFID seems to line up with the details the guy has given for the surrender. So you can take him in.
He must be an abuser good at his craft if he’s mind broken the fluffy to be happy after all that torture.
The guy says something to the fluffy before turning to the door to leave. You don’t catch it though
It’s an abuser so probably just trying to taunt the fluffy for the last time.
After the man has left. You bring the fluffy to the vet tech on duty.
Outside of some bad genital mutilation. The vet on staff gives him the thumbs up to make it to the adoption pens.
Snowball is happy, and people love rehabilitation stories so he should find a home
So you place him in the stallion pen to go make some friends.
The next day there’s a lot of babbling about “Skettiland” by the colts
You look at Snowball and he is gleefully telling every fluffy about a magical place called “Skettiland” that has all the spaghetti in the world
Seems Snowball must have been told about it by his abuser to give false hope.
Fluffies believe most things humans tell them. So you let it go for now.
It’s time for the mixed gender play session for adult fluffies
Allows fluffies to interact with the other sex and gets them to socialize.
Any fluffies who try special huggies get punished with the sorry stick and sorry box. Then returned to their cage for no play time for the rest of the day
It’s a good test of behavior. Fluffies who don’t listen have their euthanization dates pushed up.
Don’t want to give an overly horny stallion or a foal crazed mare to a prospective adopter even before they are neutered or spayed.
But then you hear more about Spaghetti land. Every fluffy is babbling about it in the mixed pen
So you ask Snowball where on earth did he hear about “Skettiland”
“Skettiland Behwind tha doow. Daddeh say so!”
Snowball points to a red door at the back of the shelter
The one that leads to the euthanasia and vet tech room for milk bag procedures.
There’s another white door, but that just leads to the other vet tech room for fixing injuries, giving shots and inspecting fluffies.
You pull Snowball out of the mixed playpen and put him back in the stallion pen.
You try to explain that Skettiland isn’t real and he doesn’t want to go past the door because it’s a special human only door that fluffies don’t come back out from.
You euthanize and milkbag any fluffies that failed at getting adopted when most fluffies are asleep so they don’t know whats behind that door. They just disappear.
You usually tell any fluffy that asks about their friends that other fluffy found a home.
It’s a blatant lie but keeps them mostly happy though some miss their friends
You can’t say its the door where fluffies are brought to die or else it creates mass panic
You explain to Snowball not to talk about Skettiland any more.
He sadly replies “Otay” when you ask him to stop
Days go past.
The rumors of “Skettiland” have run through the stallion and mare pens like wildfire.
Stallions and mares are loudly demanding to be taken past the door to “Skettiland”
Co-Workers can’t stand the babbling about it.
Even use of the sorry stick and sorry box hasn’t stopped them loudly demanding to be taken to Skettiland behind the red door
Fluffies are threatening “sorry poopies” at staff, even. Demanding to be taken to Skettiland
Some Fluffies have even become hostile. And are putting off adopters because they want to stay at the shelter.
Some fluffies who were given months to be adopted have been knocked down just to a week due to bad behaviour
Management ends up calling an all hands on meeting after work.
The shelter is losing adoptions and pens were filling up with unwanted fluffies
Fluffies don’t want to be adopted. They want to go to “Skettiland” and believe it’s behind the red door. So they demand to stay till they go behind the red door.
All because one fluffy was telling them about it.
Eventually an all hands on deck meeting is called
Staff are pissed and worried about the potential overcrowding problem. Never mind fluffies demanding to be taken behind the red door.
The offending fluffy is brought in.
Snowball is obviously scared shitless at all the unhappy humans looking at him
One of the vet techs lightly rubs his stomach to get him to poop out in a litterbox, then puts him in an immobilization board so he can’t get away.
They interrogate him to find out why he can’t stop talking about “spaghetti land”. I mean, interrogating a fluffy is stupid but you have to do what you have to do.
Snowball can only stammer out “D-D-Daddeh tew Snowbaw to tew other fwuffies ‘bout Skettiland or else daddeh come back and give Snowbaw biggest hurties!”
Looks like the abuser mindfucked and tortured the fluffy into this.
Snowball was only happy because his owner had left him alone to not be abused
Management scans the microchip again to find out who’s fucking with the operation.
Instead of the name and address showing up. His name shows up as A.B User
“Death to the shitpigs. Cleveland OH” as his address
His address and name on the surrender sheet is fake as well.
Staff are pissed. Somehow he got access to the database and was able to change his name. Possibly through a friend
Most abusers keep to their own fluffies. Not go after shelters
But you have the odd lone wolf who tries a massacre because they truly despise fluffies.
The underground nature of abuse only helps keep it secret. Friends in high places can also help.
Turned out they knew about the shelter and lobbed in a ticking time bomb of a fluffy.
Probably knew someone who worked at the shelter before as well since they knew about the red door.
Snowball sobs and sobs
That’s probably what the abuser told him that you didn’t catch. To remind Snowball if he didn’t do what he was told he’d come back for him. And Snowball was happy to see the back of him.
The Manager ponders what she’s gonna do. As talk goes around the room of possible solutions
Can’t euthanize the whole shelter because there would be some big questions asked and the shelter might lose its funding if one fluffy could take down the operation.
Can’t euthanize Snowball. Won’t solve the problem and he did nothing wrong. But even if you told him to start telling other fluffies that Skettiland doesn’t exist. They won’t believe him and see he’s lying.
Fluffies have a hard time believing something too good to be true doesn’t exist.
A vet tech figures it out. They will believe Snowball if he’s traumatized enough and see the emotions when he tells them “Its not real”.
Fluffies respond heavily to trauma, emotionally. Too much trauma and they can retreat back in their mind and turn into a foal like state.
But apply trauma just right, you can break a smarty back to a regular fluffy. Or if you’re an abuser, keep your victim from going into a foal like state.
Eventually the staff come to a realization If Snowball can convince other fluffies after seeing something really traumatic behind the doors. The other fluffies would believe him. Snowball might be useful.
It’s a bit of an abusive solution. But it’s not like you are breeders who need to delicately take care of the product. Some fluffies can be expendable.
Staff are instructed to be a little rougher with the sorry stick and other punishments after all. But they need the fluffies to be the best they can be or they won’t get adopted.
So a solution has been agreed
Five of the worst behaving stallions and five mares are chosen from each pen.
All of them close to their euthanization date.
All of them are good colors. The bad colors haven’t been as bad, they always seem to know their place and behave and will likely revert once the plan has been set in motion.
But good colors always seem to know they get more attention from the customers browsing the pens and can be more demanding.
These good colors are still good fluffies. But have been demanding to be taken to “skettiland”. It doesn’t make picking the victims out any easier.
At least the other milk bags can take an early retirement and be replaced by the new ones
The staff wait till the fluffies are asleep as procedure.
The staff pick up and bring in the stallions into the euthanasia room while the mares go to the vet tech room for milkbagging
You are tasked with keeping an eye on Snowball and keeping him on the immobilization board as he witnesses the traumatic events occuring.
Traumatic for a fluffy, at least
You start with the stallion room. Your colleague places them in the gassing chamber
They seem positively delighted and begin playing with the toys and demanding to know where the “Sketti” is.
Snowball moans that he’s not joining them, but in a few moments he’ll wish he wasn’t.
The window closes as the stallions potter around anxiously waiting for their spaghetti.
Soon the nitrous oxide is released. Sucking the air out.
Normally the fluffies would be so out of it from the sedatives in the spaghetti they would barely notice the air was being sucked out of their lungs
The stallions start to choke and panic as they start banging their leathery hooves off the window to be let out
It’s no use as they all start gagging and collapsing as the second valve of CO2 is dispersed in to stop their hearts and lungs.
The panicking and screaming coming from the chamber is horrifying to witness
A stallion chirps like a foal and curls up into a fetal position as they struggle to breathe as the others twitch and gasp for air
Snowball is blubbering as he’s forced to witness them wither and die from lack of oxygen
Soon enough, your colleague checks in and sees they all have stopped breathing and are dead.
Snowball mopes and cries in the board as you move to the next room
The second part is already in motion as you take him out of the euthanization room.
You take Snowball into the vet tech room where they are in the middle of milk bagging the third mare
Two mares with blindfolds already on sob on the counter and gurgle into their set feeding tubes as the last of the blood oozes from their cauterized stumps
The last two fluffies are hugging and crying in the pen set beside the operating table as they wait their turn
Snowball looks on in horror at the massacre going on on the table.
The mare on the table is screaming up a storm as she yells “NU TAKE WEGGIES!”
The vet tech is wearing ear protectors so she’s barely hearing the mare as she slices through, removes the leg and cauterizes the stump
The mare is in absolute pain as the wound is cauterized and lets out a massive “SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!”
The vet tech shoves in the feeding tube as Snowball howls in sympathetic agony
You should have brought your ear protectors yourself
You place Snowball in an isolation pen as instructed by the manager after he’s witnessed what goes behind the red door
He’s wailing after witnessing all the death and destruction
The manager comes over to Snowball and tells him he’s actually a good fluffy and his former daddy did a bad thing by lying to him about Skettiland
But he’s seen behind the red door, and he needs to tell the other fluffies there’s “No Skettiland behind the door"
The manager adds "we’ll make sure your daddy never comes back if you do what we tell you”
Not that “Daddy” would be welcome back after trying to wipe out the shelter.
Next day you introduce Snowball back into the stallion pens
He keeps to himself mostly. A few sobs from time to time.
Some try to give him hugs and play with him to cheer him up
Till another stallion mentions “Skettiland”
Snowball immediately runs over crying
“Nuuuu! Skettiland not twue! Ownwy Hurties!”
The other colts seem to freak out a bit.
After a bit of hushing and some quick trips to the litter box, the fluffies seem to go back to normal, though a bit nervous. Their little fluffy brains are processing that Snowball must be telling the truth. Especially if he’s really upset.
The same happens in mixed play time.
Snowball even throws a “sorry hoof” when another fluffy won’t believe him, starts arguing and almost kicks off a fight till the supervisor intervenes.
Snowball will get an hour in the sorry box for that but the plan is working
It’s a few weeks later
All talk of “Skettiland” has disappeared.
Snowball has frightened every fluffy into thinking it’s not real
Fluffies concentrate on getting adopted now more than ever
Management decided that Snowball is useful at keeping pens in line so we’re gonna keep him as an attendant.
Snowball is a good fluffy that likes attention and treats but too broken to be adopted anyway.
Snowball gets taught a few new roles and is an emphatic fluffy the other adult fluffies can turn to if they are sad and lonely.
Snowball sobs to himself at night though.
Seems the nightmares are fierce for him and he doesn’t sleep well.
Snowball really sobs when he hears the staff take away the fluffies that didn’t make it
But order has been restored at last
Fluffies are being adopted at a steady rate.
And behavior seems to be good
Even if it took breaking a few eggs
Such is life at a fluffy pony shelter.
