The spaghetti mountain took the herd three full days to finish, and at no point did it ever lose it’s warmth. For 72 hour it stayed warm, comforting and delicious, every member had their fill and then some.
It was the happiest any of them had been for a long time.
As the dawn rose on the forth day in Eden, pregnant mare Agnes was woken by three sets of hoofs shaking her out of her slumber.
“Mummah, am bwite-time, can babbehs hab sketti miwkies nyo?”
Agnes playfully swatted the trio away. “Nu gib mummah shakies, am bad fow tummeh bwuddas an sissies.”
“Am sowwy tummeh-babbehs, bu big babbehs need sketti miwkies fow biggest pwaytime.”
Agnes chuckled and sat up, groaning as she did. She was old, old for a Fluffy anyway, close to 8 years old and she had spent an unfortunate majority of those years in captivity. Her pure white Fluff was a breeders wet dream and her womb had been put through Hell because of it, the number of children she had taken from her numbered in the hundreds, potentially thousands.
She had been able to escape when a freak storm caused a tree to smash open the locked door leading to the outdoors, Agnes had been the only Fluffy in the mill brave enough and desperate enough to run into the howling rain, she was already pregnant when she left and her drive to hold onto at least one litter pushed her forward. By luck she was able to find Skids’ herd before she gave birth.
She had given birth to four foals, the trio she had with her now and a stillborn filly, looking at the three survivors, it was no wonder why she was so popular with the breeders. There was Spotty, a green colt with bright red polka-dots across his body, there was Stripy, a yellow and purple striped filly, and there was Checkers, a white and black chequered colt. All three of them were Alicorns, a trait inherited by their rapacious father, but Agnes did not judge them for it, they were her babies and she loved them.
As soon as she was upright, Spotty and Stripy immediately latched onto her teats, and just as quickly, Agnes jumped back from the sharp pain on their teeth on her sensitive nipples.
“OUCHIES!!”
“Huu, sowwy mummah, Stwipy nu meen tu gib huwties.”
Hearing the commotion, Agnes’ mate Sargeant came over to keep the peace. “Babbehs need be cawefuh, am awmosh big Fwuffies, hab teethies fow numming gwassies an sketties. Nu am weady yet, bu wiww be soon. Jus gu swow wen habben miwkies.”
“Ok nyu daddeh.”
Sargeant smiled at the regretful foals. He wasn’t their biological father, but he was the closest thing to a dad the trio had ever known and he treated them as his own. Much like Agnes he was an older Fluffy, tufts of grey stood out amongst his black Fluff, particularly on his neck and chin, he was missing part of his right ear and much like Skids, he walked with a pronounced limp in his back leg from a fracture that didn’t heal correctly. But he was brave and he was strong and he was kind and the herd loved him for it.
In truth, he hadn’t planned to partner with Agnes, the two of them just hunkered together for companionship in their old age, then one thing led to another and now he was both step-father and father with Agnes partway through her second trimester with his children. It had been difficult, but they were happy with each other.
Spotty let go of his mother’s teat with a loud belch and made room for Checkers to take his place.
“Mummah, dose wewe bestesh miwkies eba, can babbehs hab mowe sketti miwkies soon pwease.”
Agnes sadly shook her head. “Sowwy babbeh, by Smawty say nu am gud to hab tuu mush sketti, make Fwuffies fattee an wazee. Smawty am gun gu wook fow gwassy nummies dis bwite-time.
“Aww.” Stripy moaned out, milk dribbling down her chin. “Bu babbeh wan sketti miwkies.”
“Sah-gent gu tawkies to Smawty, see if can hab wittew sketti.”
The foals cheered and Sargeant gave Agnes a quick muzzle rub before heading off to find Skids. On the way, he took a moment to take in their new home, in the three days since they arrived the sun had barely stopped shining, it was bright and cheery when they went to bed and bright and cheery when they woke up. And yet the grass and the flowers were as vibrant and fresh as always and the small river running through the corner was still crystal clear blue.
The river was where he and Agnes had set up their nest, wanting to be close to the drinking stream once Agnes became immobile. A few feet from them was Daisy, lazily sitting against a tree while she fed her chirpies and sang to them, she had lost her mate only a few days into her pregnancy and while it had been hard, she was determined to pull her weight and make a place for her and her children within the herd. She was now one of the voices Skids would turn to for advice when facing a difficult decision.
A little further up, Sargeant saw Zoey and Rex flirting with each other, Zoey was a fairly new addition to the herd, and showed all the telltale signs of a household runaway, but she wasn’t demanding or fussy so Skids let her stay. The fact that Zoey was young and beautiful was not lost on the stallions of the herd but Rex had the stones to talk to her first and the two of them had had an ongoing courtship for the last couple of weeks. The only reason they hadn’t committed yet was because Skids had a strict ‘No Enfies’ rule for their journey since more mouths to feed on top of Agnes and Daisy both being pregnant was the last thing they needed. Now that the herd had settled down, it seemed only a matter of time before there was more foals on the way.
Eventually Sargeant found Skids, the Smarty had set up his own nest as close to the entrance to the Odd Fluffy’s cave as he could. Not to horde the power inside for himself, but rather to guard the entrance from anyone trying to make their way inside. There was a part of Skids that didn’t fully trust the Odd Fluffy, and he was careful around who was allowed to enter the Cave.
Muldoon and Harrigan were with Skids, trying to take stock of their food supply, or at least Muldoon was, Harrigan’s attentions were more focussed on Zoey and the pain he felt in his heart, seeing her chatted up by Rex. Sure Rex was stronger than him, and bigger than him, and his green coat was much shinier and brighter than his dull brown, and he was charming to talk to, but other than that, what did Rex have to offer Zoey that he didn’t.
“Hawwigan? HAWWIGAN!”
“GAK! Sowwy, wha Muhdoon wan?”
“How many bewwy nummies am weft, Muhdoon onwy askies thwee times.”
“Sowwy Muhdoon, Hawwigan was… neba mind. Dewe am fibe an fouw bewwy nummies weft.”
Muldoon turned to Skids, the two of them had been partners for a long time, Muldoon was the first Fluffy Skids had come across since escaping his abusive daddy and the two had become fast friends. Muldoon kept Skids safe while Skids used his intelligence to teach Muldoon how to count.
“Wiv da cwispies Fwuffies find an da nutties, dat am onwy enuff nummies fow twu bwite-times, thwee at mosh.”
Skids nodded. “Dewe am enuff fwowas an gwassies tu keep Fwuffies fwom tummeh-huwties fow nudda bwite-time ow twu, bu nu wan weway on dem, dewe nu awways be gwassies.”
“Wai nu askies da mag-gik Fwuffy?” Harrigan asked, motioning towards the cave entrance.
Skids shook his head. “Fwuffies nu knyo if mag-gik Fwuffy awways be dewe tuu. Need tu keep wookin fow own nummies su neba fowgit how. Mag-gik Fwuffy am onwy fow wen Fwuffys hab nu udda choosies.”
‘But the Magic Fluffy would never leave us.’ Said the voice in Harrigan’s ear.
“Bu da mag-gik Fwuffy wouwd neba weave us.” Moaned Harrigan. “Wai Smawty nu wan askies fow aww da nummies Fwuffies wan.”
Skids sighed, “Smawty yoose tu hab daddeh fow nummies, thwee nummies ebewy bwite-time. Den daddeh stop gibben nummies, an Smawty nu knyo whewe tu find mowe. Gib Smawty tummeh-huwties, den finkie-pwace huwties.”
Skids lifted his left leg, his lame leg, the one he still walked with a limp even to this day. Harrigan looked closer and saw a large chunk of the leg was missing, the skin had healed over but it was still clearly patchy and course to look at.
“Smawty hab hungwies fow su wong dat Smawty num weggie jus su nu gu foweba sweepies. Smawty neba wan udda Fwuffies tu feew dos hungwies eba gain, su Smawty wiww find nummies fow hewd su we neba hab tummeh-huwties gain, neba hab tu weway on wun fing tu gib nummies.”
Harrigan nodded and shamefully slipped away, thoroughly put in his place by his leader. Skids turned to Muldoon.
“Fwuffies need mobe nyo.” Muldoon stated plainly. “If wan tu be backsies befowe dawk-times.”
Skids nodded in agreement and looked over to where Rex was still flirting with Zoey. “WEX! Stop finkies wiv yuw nu-nu stik. Smawty am guin tu find nummies, yu am Smawty tiww am bak.”
“Yeh Smawty, wiww keep hewd safe.”
Zoey slowly rubbed up against Rex’s side. “Oooh, big an stwong Mistah Smawty, Zoh-ee wike. Pwease sabe Zoh-ee fwom da munstahs, heeheehee.”
As Rex and Zoey started to resume their flirting, Skid’s voice broke straight through their fantasy.
“Nu enfies tiww Smawty am bak.”
“WHA? Smawty, yu nu can…”
“Da nu enfie wuwe stay in pwace tiww Smawty knyo how many nummies am awound. Dat am finah.”
The wind was taking out of their sails but Rex and Zoey reluctantly agreed to the terms before Skids and Muldoon left. Rex decided to distract himself with his new position and took a walk around the perimeter, making sure everyone was safe and secure.
Harrigan felt his blood chill, he ad come so close to losing any chance he might have had with Zoey and he never even realised it. How could he have been so blind? He only had until Skids got back to prove to her that he was better, that he could love her truly, not treat her like an enfie-toy like Rex would. That he was a nice guy and nice guys deserved to show how caring they were.
But how, how could he show her, should he just tell her? No of course not, he should just steal glances at her and hope she notices him. But he didn’t have the time to wait, maybe if he sung a song to her, or told her how pretty she was or…
‘What if I just asked the magic Fluffy?’
“Hawwigan askies da mag-gik Fwuffy fow hewpies.”
Once again, speaking the thought aloud made it real, and Harrigan ventured into the cave. At first the darkness frightened him to the point of wanting to turn and leave, until a distant glow of bright pink light grew from the gloom, inviting him to stroll deeper inside.
“Pwetty wight.” Harrigan giggled to himself as he approached the heart of the cave, a still, steady cone of magenta filed his surroundings, revealing enough to keep his mind safe, but not uncovering all of the shadows. And it was from one of those shadows that Harrigan saw it, the slithering blackness of movement, tentacles sleek with an unknown slime and yet cracking and solid as rocks uncurled themselves and The Odd Fluffy appeared, two needles of stone held it aloft as it slowly lowered itself down from whatever blackened heights it made its rest.
It stopped just above Harrigan, close enough for conversation but still clearly hovering above the cave floor. From this close, Harrigan could see the patch-work white and magenta pattern across the Odd Fluffy’s coat, and he could swear it seemed to be… moving?
‘It must be a trick of the light’
“Am jus a twik of da wight.”
“Indeed it is.”
The voice in his head was so similar to The Odd Fluffy’s that it took Harrigan a second to realise that it had spoken. He started to wonder why that was until he suddenly remembered why he was there.
“Mag-gik Fwuffy! Am it twue dat yu can gib aneefing dat Fwuffies askies fow?”
“For the fight price, anything and everything can be yours.”
“Eben… eben wub?”
The Odd Fluffy smirked. “You wish to have Zoey’s heart, do you not?”
“How du Mag-gik Fwuffy knyo…?”
“Do you wish to know, or do you wish for me to act?”
“Pwease, Hawwigan wub Zoh-ee mowe dan aneefing, knyo dat she couwd wub Hawwigan tuu bu am tuu distwacted by dummeh Wex. Wan Mag-gik Fwuffy make Zoh-ee wub Hawwigan.”
A soft crick of stone echoes in the cave as the Odd Fluffy moved in closer to Harrigan, the brown stallion tried to be brave and look the strange creature in the face, but when he glanced at two empty sockets where the Odd Fluffy’s eyes should be, he turned away in fear, a small trickle of piss leaking out of his crotch.
“Are you willing to pay the price for your request?” The Odd Fluffy asked, their mouth never moving from a cold, empty smile.
“Wha… wha pwice du Hawwigan need tu pay?”
One of the stony tentacles slithered out from the dark and gently stroked Harrigan’s cheek, the feeling of sharp, jagged rock moving so smoothly and fluidly down his face confused the frightened Fluffy all the more.
“Nothing much, only for you to share a truth with your friends. The price you must pay, if to tell your herd my name.”
“Dat… am dat it? Weawwy?”
“Yes, love is cheap and plentiful, it will not cost much to change the direction of someone’s heart. But know this, this price is only for love, it is not for a family, any foal you place within Zoey will not survive long enough to breathe. You have bought her as your mate, the price for children is much higher.”
“Bu.. bu babbehs am bestes fing eba. How can Hawwigan an Zoh-ee hab wub if nu hab babbehs?”
“I told you, love is cheap, it can be turned on a whim. But you are asking to bring children into this world who are not part of the natural order. That requires a higher price, one you are not willing to pay just yet.”
“Wha du…”
“We will speak on this matter again in time. For now, focus on your current task, and the knowledge you must share.”
For a brief moment, Harrigan wondered if he had made a mistake, but knowing Zoey would be his spurred him to keep moving forward.
“Wha am Mag-gik Fwuffy’s namesie?”
“I have had many name across many years, some of them cannot be spoken by normal tongues without the threat of madness upon them. But for you, I shall choose the name of my last host, for poor Charles has no more use of it. Tell your friends to refer to myself as Ward, and Zoey’s heart shall be yours.”
“Wawd. Ok, Hawwigan teww fwiends Wawd’s namesie. Fank yu mag-guk fwiend.”
“Until we speak again Harrigan, and we will speak again.”
The magenta light from the rock slowly ebbed away until only darkness remained, Harrigan turned and left the cave, surprised at how much shorter the journey out felt compared to the journey in.
As soon as he felt the sunlight touch his face, he was bowled over by a bright red bullet.
“HAWWIGAN!” Zoey cheered as she tackled into the stallion. “Whewe yu been, Zoh-ee wooking aww oba.”
“Um, Fwuffy jus… jus tawkies tu Wawd. Nu bout aneefing.”
“Weww Zoh-ee miss yu, Zoh-ee hate wen Hawwigan am gun tuu wong.”
The cheery Pegasus leaned in and nuzzled herself against Harrigan’s face, the stallion felt his heart begin racing and his nu-nu stick start to harden from excitement as he realised how quickly Ward’s magic must’ve worked.
The excitement however, was interrupted by a loud cry from across the grass.
“Wha am dis?”
Rex stormed over to where Zoey and Harrigan were laying, his face etched with fury at the sight of his girl cosying up to another stallion.
“Wha am dummeh awwigan duin wiv Rex’s speciaw-fwiend?”
“Nu am yuw speciaw-fwiend.” Zoey spat with a surprising amount of venom. “Yu am dummeh pwetty stawwion whu onwy finkies wuv wittew nu-nu stik. Hawwigan am bestesh stawwion, he wub Zoh-ee pwopawy.”
Rex felt his heart sliced open with every cruel word out of Zoey’s mouth. “Bu… bu… bu Zoh-ee, Wex wub yu. Hab awways wubbed yu, du Zoh-ee nu wub Wex nu mowe?”
“Zoh-ee NEBA wub Wex, Zoh-ee nu wan aneefing tu du wiv Wex nu mowe. Weave Zoh-ee awone, ow speciaw-fwiend gib yu wowstesh huwties.”
The sorrow and heartache in Rex turned back to a raging fury as he turned towards Harrigan and launched himself, only missing the brown Pegasus by mere inches.
“WHA YU DU TU ZOH-EE?! WHA DU DUMMEH HAWWIGAN DU TU HEW?!”
“EEEEK! NUFFIN! FWUFFY PWOMISE!”
“YU WIE!”
“STOPPIES DIS WIGHT NYO!”
The sharp cry of Daisy’s voice cut through the two stallions immediately, they stopped their chase and turned to the furious mare, the faint sounds of seven crying infants came from behind her as Agnes and Sargeant tried to calm their children and Daisy’s.
“Wha am guin on tu make yu aww su woud and dummeh?” Daisy spat at the pair.
“It am Hawwigan’s fauwt!” Rex yelled. “He tawkies tu da Mag-gik Fwuffy an nyo Zoh-ee nu wub Rex nu mowe.”
Zoey rolled her eyes. “Dat am siwwy, Zoey neba wubbed Wex, onwy Hawwigan, he am bestesh speciaw-fwiend.”
Daisy eyed Zoey suspiciously, knowing she had seen the young mare practically attached to Rex at the hip since they started their journey to find shelter. She turned her attention to Harrigan, the stallion was shivering from the fright of almost being pummelled by the much larger and stronger Rex.
“Wex. Did yu tawkies tu da mag-gik Fwuffy bout Zoh-ee?”
“NU! Nu, Fwuffy pwomise. Wawd jus wan make tawkies, wan be fwiends wiv Fwuffies.”
“Whu am Wawd?”
“Wawd am da mag-gik Fwuffy, dat am deiw namesie. Wawd teww Hawwigan wen habben tawkies.”
Daisy still wasn’t convinced, something just didn’t feel right, something felt…
‘Zoey as made her choice, we must accept it, even if we don’t like it’
“Zoh-ee hab makies hew choosies. Fwuffies mus ak-sep it, eben if nu wikeies.”
Rex made a move to object. “Bu…”
“Nu mowe, yu wan tawkies bout it watah den yu tawkies wiv Smawty. Tiww den, nu shouties an nu fighites su babbehs can hab gud sweepies.”
Rex clearly still wanted to argue, but there was nothing to be done at that moment. Reluctantly he turned away, marching over to an empty spot by the edge of the den to sulk. Daisy watched as Zoey and Harrigan began to hug and coo at each other before she turned back to rejoin Agnes and Sargeant.
“Am mummah Day-see ok?” Stripy asked when Daisy returned, one of her whimpering foals pressed softly against the colt’s stomach for comfort.
“It am ok, jus fighties. Can tawkies bout it wiv Smawty wen he bak. Fank yu fow wooking afta babbehs.”
“Dey am gud babbehs.” Agnes spoke softly, two of Daisy’s fillies feeding from her teats. “Agnus happies tu hewp.”
“Sah-gent tuu.” The old Alicorn nodded to her. “Nu knyo wha happen wiv Zoh-ee, bu am gwad Day-see stop da shouties.”
“Fank yu fwiends. Day-see nu wan du dis, bu hab udda askies fow Sah-gent.”
“Aneefing, wha du Day-see need?”
“Stay by mag-gik Fwuffy cavesies. Nu-wun gu in tiww Smawty am bak.”
