Barry slept trying to find some minimal escape from the endless boredom his life had become. He sighed unhappily unable to force himself to sleep. It was too late in the day for it leaving his eyes a still bright and vibrant red, and he had spent much of the morning the same way leaving him entirely lacking in tiredness. His ears perked as he heard the telltale sound of a patio door sliding open.
“Daddeh!” he cried running on chubby limbs towards his owner.
“Hey buddy. Noticed your food dish was empty, just came out to fill it.” He said tearing open an overpriced single serve pouch of food.
“Can we pway daddeh? Maybe wawkies? Ow fetchies?” He asked hopefully. His daddy gave a half-hearted scratch to the ears.
“Not now Barry. Daddy is on a call for an important meeting maybe later tonight.” Barry drooped sadly.
“Bu’ maybe bawwy hewp wif caww? Go inside wif daddeh?” He pleaded begging for any lenience. His owner looked at him sternly.
“Now barry you know my rules. You’re a pet and pets stay outside only. I can’t have you dirtying anything or running amuck while I’m working. You’ll just have to stay here.” It was far from the first time Barry had heard the speech. Somehow its words stung worse every time he heard it.
“Bu’, bu’ Bawwy wonewy! Pwease daddeh! Bawwy miss yu.” He sobbed running closer. He felt the pressure on his neck telling him he was near the boundary, but he launched himself forward desperately wrapping around his daddy’s shin. He sighed and jerked his leg back. Despite parry hugging with all his might, his hug was still ripped apart as he hit the ground hard.
“Now look at what you’ve done Barry. I’ll need the wash these pants before I go out with them again. Now I’ll be right here just inside the house. I’m not really going anywhere.” Barry’s tears burned like fire in his eyes as a twinge of childish rage boiled up inside him.
“Nu faiw! Yu nu wub Bawwy! Onwy cawe 'bout dummy diwties!” He stomped his feet just to feel his point was made. His owner looked coldly at him.
“There’s no need for such blatant disobedience. As punishment you’re grounded. I won’t be out again tonight.” He turned and walked away without waiting on an answer. Barry grew terrified and ran as close as he could screaming for him.
“Nu! Pwease daddeh, Bawwy sowwy! Wiww be gud fwuffy jus’ nu gwound Bawwy! Come back! Come back…” His words trailed off as the patio door slid shut keeping his words from reaching his daddy. He turned back to the center of his open enclosure and looked bitterly at the meanie chain that kept him locked to his little circle of the outside and the imposing stake it was hooked to. Barry didn’t know nor would he understand that the sorry lot he’d drawn was simply a matter of his daddy’s failings. Sure he did in fact “love” Barry but that love was warped and twisted by his own inexperience. His mother had a perpetual disdain for dirt and all of its carriers and so the only pet he had ever known was a golden retriever who was more than happy with only a tether to confine him, shelter to cover him, food in plenty, and playtime any time the young boy wanted it. He had never known the thoughts of the creature nor did he care to learn them. It was this that made him slowly despise his new companion for laying such displeasures bare. His constant need for love, for care, for companionship, for freedom was never ending annoyance to him. If his pet Goldie had been fine with what was given, why should any other pet be different? He had began with excitement to see the same timber doghouse rejuvenated with fresh red paint and a happy new occupant. All his coworkers recommended a fluffy as the perfect pet. Infinitely loving, infinitely adorable, a perfect companion to all. He had such joy seeing the same shade of yellow on the first fluffy he saw in the shelter. It felt like destiny had united them. Now he only saw it as infinitely needing, infinitely whining, infinitely annoying and was close to swearing off pets altogether if not love. This pathetic fluffy was hardly deserving of the love he offered if he’d so openly spurn him. He poured himself another coffee and went back to a dull meeting that would accomplish nothing and leave him wishing for sunlight and open air.
Outside Barry returned to the usual daily activity he spent his days on. He picked at the same overbuilt chain with barbs at every joining trying to find one point comfortable enough to pull on and leaving behind blood where Goldie’s blood was still dried. He walked a solemn circular death march trying to twist the great screw of an anchor up and out of the ground as Goldie had. He ate to fill the time rather than his stomach hoping to see his owner in the scant moments he spent to refill dishes till he was overweight as Goldie was. He licked at bed sores wearing away his fluff in the same spots Goldie had them. He curled up and cried desperate to see his master or anyone else that would show any comfort or kindness just as Goldie did. He slept to burn away time hoping for any change and dreaming of how wonderful it would be off the tether and free as Goldie was now.
He woke to see a sheet of darkness above with little pinpricks of light scattered across it. ‘Darkie time already.’ He thought sadly. 'Daddy is sleeping. He’s not coming out ‘till bright time.’ He stared up at the patterns of light unable to do most of his usual activities without the light. They were beautiful in their own way and the only true pleasure he felt out here. ‘If I ever get daddy to let me in I’ll ask if I can have a few of them above inside too.’ He thought savoring the moment of beauty and happiness. He saw a point of light streak across the sky and marveled at the sight. Half remembering old tales from his happier shelter days he shut his eyes tight and wished as hard as he could. ‘Please, Take fluffy with you. Take fluffy away to somewhere better. Take fluffy to a new daddy that loves fluffies properly.’ He tried to believe it as hard as he could even as he didn’t hope for it. He had wished the same thing many times and even a special star didn’t seem magical enough to grant those wishes. He opened his eyes again and to his surprise it looked like the streak of light was coming back to him. It started glowing brighter, the light slowly increasing as he began to see the grass around him and the house he slept in. It grew bigger, and bigger, until he realized it was getting bigger, it was getting closer! It shone like the brightest point in the dark, then grew as round as the moon as it zoomed in at amazing speed! It came so close he saw it was bigger than the house! The light directly under it was so bright he couldn’t see! It was just the great shiny disc and the darkness further out from where the light shone. He felt strange with his stomach flip flopping on him as he stared at it in wonder. Then he realized what his stomach really didn’t like was him flying! He looked to his hooves and realized none of them were on the ground so it must be his wings carrying him through the air. He panicked as he didn’t have wings and he didn’t know when the air would realize this and let him fall back down. ‘Go not wings!’ he thought as hard as he can. ‘Carry Barry away!’ His lack of wings seemed to listen as he rose higher and higher, faster and faster. He rose up until he couldn’t even see anything but the great metal disc. With a sudden painful jerk he stopped the cruel chain holding him even now with this divine intervention trying to steal him away. ‘No!’ he wanted to scream the tightness around his neck getting to be almost too much to bear. He shifted side to side as he turned around the strange not wings pulling on his back half uncaring of the cruel mechanical menace wrapped around his neck. ‘Let go!’ He rasped through the strangulation never feeling such fury before. It pulled harder his rear stretching out as far as it could. The pressure on his head was immense. He could scarcely move his neck with all the weight placed against the end of it. Still he pawed at the air wanting to fight off the sharp metal serpent that had locked him away for so long. He screamed with the pain until there was a sudden pop and the pain was gone. He looked to see the bright blue of his collar floating to the ground still bearing the cruel spikes of the chain. He remembered how he had picked that collar out himself how his daddy told him it was a promise of all the love he had in store for him. “Gud bye” He spat disgusted by the thing.
The not wings pulled him up into the disk until he was inside and the circular hole below him shrank down until it closed. He felt his not wings give out and he landed soft enough in the metal plating. He tried to take a few steps and sniffed around. “Hewwo?” He called. The room was dimly lit and he couldn’t see everything going on closer to the edges. His voice echoed slightly and had an odd metallic ring to it. The air was putrid smelling like his meanie daddy on “deep cleaning day” when everything got a thorough coating of bleach. A light came on and pointed towards him. A strange voice called out saying something in a language he’d never heard before. “Wha? Bawwy nu undewstan’.” He said. The voice repeated the sounds sounding impatient. Barry tried to make sense of them but couldn’t. “Bawwy nu… uh…” He started backing away feeling guilty for being unable to be a good fluffy for nice lights voice. He heard a new annoyed sound as his not wings kicked in and flew him directly to the light. They set him down on a purple rectangle that stood out on all the metal and stopped carrying him again. “Oh. Otay!” Barry said hoping he could learn the rules for this game quickly. The purple platform rose up suddenly carrying Barry up to the eye-level of the voice’s true source. To Barry the creature looked like a human although a strange one. It was much shorter than his daddy and had pale ashy grey skin. Its head was massive and its eyes were enormous taking up almost a third of its face and had a distinct slant. Barry thought he’d heard stories of such humans back at the shelter. One of his friends had been given to the shelter because his owner became a teenager and grew more interested in watching them on tv than taking care of a fluffy. “Am yu ah-knee-may giwlie?” He asked thinking them just myth. The creature said something incomprehensible and four strange tendrils came down from the ceiling and went to each side of the fluffy. They sprouted a fan of green light beams that went over him as they spun all around him. They hurt his eyes so he tried to shut them tight and put a leg over them. He felt a strange force pulling the leg away and forcing him to stand nearly motionless as the lights passed over him. It felt almost like his not wings but why would they betray him when they brought him here? Mercifully they seemed to have no interest in keeping his eyes open so they let him keep his eyes shut. When he heard the spinning of the light things stop he opened his eyes to see a floating hologram of what looked like himself projected in the air. Thinking this all very strange he figured he might have simply angered his new friend. Maybe he got his terms mixed up? He tried to remember anything else that one friend might have said to him. “Sowwy, Nu mean tu say ah-knee-may. Yu am… hen-tie wight?” The creature was silent peering over the spinning holographic fluffy. Barry was creeped out. “Bawwy fink yu am… bewy awtful.” He said trying to conjugate his scant scraps of knowledge into a direct compliment. The creature shut down the hologram and said something new in its strange tongue. Barry thought it sounded like a question. “Oh. Uh, yus?” He answered not wanting to sound rude. The creature pushed a button on the platform and a new device dropped from the ceiling. It lowered slowly twisting into place. It had a long wavy appendage running out the front of it that had been kept hidden stabbed into a socket above. It looked intimidating as it positioned itself behind him. “Uh… Nu! Bawwy mean tu say nu!” He said hoping to avoid whatever this device was for. He felt the strange force pressing down on him pushing to the table as the device rumbled forward slowly. He felt it poking at his rear and felt a sudden spike of panic. “Poopie wace nu fow huwties! A-an nu am mawe!” He cried. He twisted and shoved trying to get to his feet and walk away from the device but to no avail. He felt a pressure as it pressed into him and began sobbing immediately. “Nu wike! Bawwy nu wike!” He cried but the creature either didn’t understand or didn’t care. There was a scant moment of relief as the pressure on his rear backed off and the device slid into place with less resistance before it began up again and he realized the torment he’d had so far was just one of the waves. He tried to count them as they went in but quickly lost count and he couldn’t remember how many there had been when he first saw it. When the pressure of the device and the burning of his ass seemed to be too much to bear he finally felt the mild comfort of the metal plate brushing against the fluff of his bottom. ‘It’s over’ He thought sobbing gently as the last bit slid into place. A new command came from the creature that had watched over the process intently. “Pwease nu.” Barry said hoping it would mean an end to the strange night. The creature pushed a new button on the platform and the device shuddered to life as a strange vibration seemed to shake through his entire body. Try as he might to maintain some level of dignity the force of the great machine overcame him as his shrieks rose in pitch to a crescendo of “GUD FEEWS!” he slumped over exhausted as the machine finally came to a stop. He heard the creature make a new repetitive sound as it stared over him. “Nu waugh at fwuffy!” He said to the creature as fresh tears stung in his eyes. It pressed a third button on the platform and the holographic fluffy came back. This time there was a lot of red lines and shapes inside it that a smarter creature would recognize as an organ map. A flat plane to the side of the hologram pointed several things out and marked them with what looked like angry warning signs to Barry. He didn’t like the look of it and wasn’t sure what was newly wrong with him, or what this thing planned to do about him. The creature said something that sounded like a four letter word. It pressed a fourth button and his knees gave out as what seemed like hours of torment were crammed into a few seconds and the device in his rear left and went back to storage in the ceiling.His not wings carried him while his legs couldn’t and he found the stained platform lowered to the ground as he was fitted into a new device. His legs were physically restrained this time as he was hung upside down. A sudden sting in his neck Hurt him but he then was filled with the strangest feeling of numbness. The creature poked and prodded him a few times and while Barry could feel that there was pressure on his skin even a slight twitch in his muscles as he was physically moved, he couldn’t feel the creatures touch at all. A new set of buttons rose out of the floor to greet the creature and he started pressing them rapidly with the skill of a concert pianist. The fluffy looked with horror as a number of sharp implements rose from the ceiling and bit into him. Some tore through flesh, Others seared different points, strange jackhammers stitched things into place. He saw a brace of needles carrying something pink and fleshy off and started screaming at it. “Give back! fwuffy nee’ dat fo’… Weww it pawt of fwuffy. Fwuffy nee’ aww pawts!” That was the last he saw of the operation before a new brace of spikes came for his eyes. Barry may not have known the use of his gall bladder, nor have been able to identify it on sight having never been disemboweled before, but he could scarcely be blamed for not knowing how little he needed such parts with the efficiency of the replacements being putting in. While to any casual observer it would appear that his disemboweling, reemboweling, and reorganizing of his internal organs was pointless wanton cruelty, and to some extent it was, the true purpose of such devastation seemed to be to make space in his chest cavity to add one that wasn’t yet present. The fluffy screamed as the minimal dose he had been hit with began wearing off and the pain began washing in like ocean waves just as the sutures were being closed. He heard a new sound similar to the creature but with a new pitch. He twisted his head around and tried to refocus his eyes which kept pixelating trying to get used to their new purpose. saw a new creature walk up to the first. It spoke something that sounded like a reprimand. The two conversed in a rapid fire manner the fluffy couldn’t follow. The seemingly senior of the two walked up to the board full of buttons and Barry reached out with his restrained limbs trying to make an uppies pose while hanging from the ceiling. “Pwease nyu fwiend. Hewp fwuffy?” He asked hoping for an end. It pressed a few buttons and a set of blue lasers traced along his legs meeting on his chest. Barry screamed as they made a u shape under his jaw. He felt a violent tug as he was degloved and watching his fluff fall to the ground he passed out.
He woke to a light being shone in his face as somebody in a strange getup was looking over him.
“She seems to be waking up now Missus Brown.” He said pocketing the pen light. ‘Who? and who?’ Barry thought to himself.
“Oh, thank you Doctor Stevens. I don’t know what I’d do without my darling Princess.” A new voice responded. ‘Someone named princess. Another fluffy? Am I back in the shelter?’ He wondered.
“Just doing my job I assure you. We’re a family dental and everyone knows fluffies are a part of family. Just be glad you had the foresight to add that lo-jack chip so we could find you.” He responded. A pretty lady walked up in more normal clothes and bent down to Barry’s level.
“Hey there! It’s mama! Do you recognize mama?” Barry was confused. ‘No have mama. Only meanie daddy and no one loves him enough to be mama.’ A flash of purple filled his mind and his thoughts raced around each other again. ‘Maybe mama will be better than daddy? Might like new mama.’ “Yus mummah!” He lied and tried to clear his throat as it sounded slightly off.
There’s my princess! Are you feeling ok?" Barry grumbled. ‘Princess? What sort of name is that?’
“Nu am-” Another purple flash filled his mind as he tried to remember. ‘Princess nu am old name but might be good name?’ “Nu am scawedies nu mowe.” He finished the thought.
“Oh I’m so glad to hear it. I’m nothing without my little girl!” she gushed. ‘Girl!?’ Princess fumed intent to tell her off. He filled his lungs intent on a tantrum and a purple flash sucked the wind right out of her lungs. ‘Nu am mare, but nu mean anything if dummy human no notice. Princess will humor her.
“There is just one more thing miss.” The doctor cut in.
“Right! of course, how much do I owe you?” The nice human said digging into her purse.
“Oh I wouldn’t dream of it! The thing is when we found her she was already in a slightly rough shape. We think some ferals got to her and she might be pregnant.” ‘WHAT?!’ Barry thought suddenly panicking. ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no that’s not POSSIBLE. She was only PRETENDING to be a mare she couldn’t have babies!’ Another purple flash set in. This one sported a bit of a migraine. ‘Well… As long as Princess am going to have babies. Maybe it’ll be ok? Babies are the best thing ever after all…’ Another flash and a stronger wave of pain. ‘Princess will be the best mummah ever!’ She decided determined. ‘Owe it to babies to help them through everything so they grow big and strong!’ She smiled brightly and nodded to no one but her new mama took it as confirmation of the nights activities.
“Oh… Well we had planned on getting you bred anyways. I just wish you’d have asked us rather than running off to do it on your own.” She smiled a little disappointed but seemingly fine with the new development. She walked to the door and beckoned for her to follow. Princess got up to follow her and caught a new scent. What a wonderful scent! He sniffed around and strangely found the scent was herself. She smelled like a mare, a pretty mare too. Another purple flash hit her. That was silly. There were no pretty mares. She wanted a nice handsome stallion! As she walked up to her mama she caught her reflection in the full length mirror at the door. She froze seeing it. ‘Pink? No, no that can’t be right. I’m not pink I’ve never been pink.’ “Are you coming princess?” her mama was asking. ‘The sun wasn’t pink was it? I used to be sun colored. And the leaves! Were there really pink leaves?’ “Princess?” She called more concerned. ‘That’s not right.’ She thought staring at her hooves. The purple light flashed in her mind but with each pulse her hooves still looked wrong. ‘They’re not the right color. They can’t be mine. They’re not my legs or at least not my fluff!’ The flashing grey faster and she tried to shake it away. “Princess!” a concerned voice rang out. ‘My fluff! Where is my fluff? Where is MY fluff?’ she stared as reality seemed to bleed over itself. What was and what is fought for one place and she, HE remembered. He remembered the sorrow, the loneliness, the yellow, the disk, the cutting, the meat, the doctor, the woman, the pink. "Wha happen tu fwuffy! Wha’s goin’ on’!" He screamed as a searing purple pain burned at his memories as he fought to keep hold of them. He felt a sting in his neck and inky shadows swirled around him. “Nu! nu wan fowget! Nee’ wememba’! WEMEMBA BAWWY!” he screamed as he passed out.
“What the hell was that?” Missus brown asked. The doctor, significantly sweatier than before, stood and disposed of the needle tip in the biohazard bin.
“Just some of the painkillers used. The side effects include tremors. Just gave her a mild tranquilizer to even her out.” She did not calm down at the answer.
“Who is barry?” She asked. The doctor seemed to sweat even more as he stared a second. He shrugged his shoulders.
“No idea. Might be the feral that impregnated her. It might be best not to mention the name to her. Tends to cause pining if the male is no longer around you see.” She relaxed as princess stirred.
“Hey baby you ok?” She got to her hooves slowly.
“Yus mummah.” She said groggily.
“You were screaming a bit before you passed out. Any idea what that was about baby?” She looked down slightly as if trying to remember but looked back up and shook her head.
“Nu can wememba’ mummah. Sowwy.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s ok baby. Let’s just go get some skettis.” Princess lit up and bounced over to the door to greet her.
“Skettis! Fank yu mummah! Pwincess wubs yu!”
The good doctor watched from the window smiling and waving on the off chance the pair looked back until the two were out of sight. He sighed and tore off the latex mask hiding his grey face. He stepped into the broom closet and on top of the nondescript five gallon bucket.
“Zithron, One to teleport.” He said in his natural harsh tongue. There was a moment of stinging and he was back in the cockpit with his son still looking mad through the porthole. “Gorlox.” He started, inviting his fruit to take the brunt of the conversation. He did not take the offer. “I know you want to pull your own weight here but you need to recognize your own shortcomings.” He continued. Gorlox scoffed.
“I knew what I was doing, bloom! You just don’t want to share credit for subverting the planet with me!” He tried to hold an impressive stature but failed.
“You made a major mistake. The subject you took couldn’t bear any scout offspring.”
“I was fixing it!” He cried trying to find some excuse. Zithron shook his head.
“They’re not like you or me, They need a specialized orifice to bear offspring. You’d know that if you read our research notes!” Gorlox turned away not responding. ‘Wrong move.’ Zithron thought. “Look, I get it I was your age too once. Wanting to soar across the stars, plant your flag, leave your mark, start sowing fruit of your own.”
“Bloooom.” He complained a blue tint rising above his jaw bones. Zithron smiled.
“Maybe not that last one yet. But still you’ll reach your potential in time. You just have to give it time to mature.” He turned back looking somewhat guilty.
“Ok bloom.” He said sadly. Zithron put a comforting hand to his temple.
“Come on. Why don’t we go probe a homeless human to test for nutritional density. I’ll let you fly.” He looked up at you excited.
“Really?” Zithron stood and motioned to the captains chair.
“Absolutely.” He said and secured himself to another chair.
“Thank you!” He shouted already messing with the complicated six axis controls. It was a little clunky but he took to it quickly. It made Zithron so proud. He attempted the human gesture of “hugging”. It was a strange experience but a nice one.
“I love you fruit.”
“I love you too bloom.”