Chapter 24: The Basement
“NU, NU TAKE WEON WEGGIE, NEED WEGGIE TU WUN AN GIB HUGGIES TU BABB…AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”
Travis listened as his neighbour, Citrus’s father Leon, had his leg violently broken and torn off by Mister Gus. The grey stallion had made the mistake of refusing to let Citrus out to play until Leon saw his special-friend again.
Gus responded by immediately dismembering him, he had no time for arrogant Fluffies.
“Listen to me you fucking tard, the only reason you’re still here is because Vinny wants your kid to grow up semi-decently. The moment he’s old enough, you’re out the fucking door, but until then, know that I don’t have to kill you to make your life here fucking miserable.”
Gus threw Leon back into his cage and his severed limb into the biowaste bin, muttering about ‘fucking shitrats’ as he stormed off for a smoke. Travis could hear Leon weeping about his lost leg next door, but Travis said nothing to comfort his neighbour, not out of malice, but out of apathy.
It had been three days since Mister Vincent violently disembowelled Eggplant, in that time the younger foals had all gone back to normal, taking the lesson to heart and all being as good as they could be. Travis on the other hand, he couldn’t go back to normal, Eggplant’s violent death didn’t just stick with him because of how gruesome it was, but because it broke down his worldview yet again.
The nice misters who took him in and fed him sketti were actually monsters, monsters who murdered foals, monsters who listened to Travis when he told them Eggplant was a bad foal.
Travis had tried to justify it to himself, that he didn’t know what Vincent was going to do to Eggplant when Travis told on him. In truth Travis realised that, at the time, he didn’t care what happened, so long as he got rewarded. Now that he knew the truth, he did his best to keep his head down, avoiding as much contact with Vincent as Gus as possible, if he saw a foal acting up Travis told them off personally and quietly, too scared for any of them to face the wrath of the monster misters again.
And all the while, his mind focussed on that one thing he now yearned for, what he almost forgot about in the tempestuous comforts of domesticated life.
He wanted freedom.
It was… some amount of time later, Travis wasn’t sure these days of when one sun set and another rose, when the little unicorn heard his cage door open and Mister Vincent pick him up.
“Ready for another day’s work Travis?”
Travis nodded, but his slow actions and lack of enthusiasm were clearly noticed by Vincent.
“You alright there Travis? You seem a little down.”
Travis gulped, he couldn’t let Mister Vincent on that Travis knew he was a monster, there was no telling what might happen. He had to think of something and fast.
“Am ok Mistah Vin-sent, jus hab finkie-pwace huwties, dat aww.”
Vincent eyed Travis up, as though processing what the Fluffy had just told him, but he shrugged it off, putting it down to ‘one of those Fluffy things’.
“Well alright then, just so long as it doesn’t interfere with your work today.”
As Vincent turned to leave, he was stopped by a small voice just to the side.
“Mistah Vin-sent?” Came the defeated, broken voice of Leon. “If Twavis hab finkie-pwace huwties, can Weon hewp him wook afta babbehs? Weon pwomise nu be meanie ow dummeh ow tweat Citwus babbeh betta dan uddas, jus wan be gud Fwuffy.”
Vincent couldn’t help but smirk, Leon was still an imposing figure – as far as Fluffies went, but it seemed that losing almost his entire family, facing abuse and neglect at every turn and now realising that his limbs were at risk had finally broken the large stallion.
“Sure, why not, I’m sure Travis could use the hand. But you step one hoof out of line, and it’ll be the last time you have hoofs. Got it?”
“Weon undastan.”
Vincent opened Leon’s cage and carried the hefty grey stallion out, holding him under one arm and Travis in the other.
“Now I need you two to be on point today, Gus is busy with our little cash-cow giving birth downstairs so I’m gonna be jumping between here and there. If any of the foals start acting up, I’ll need you both to take care of it yourselves. Hopefully they’ve learnt the lesson after last time and it’ll be a fucking cakewalk for you both.”
“Wha am cake-wawk?” Leon asked, his Fluffy brain not comprehending two separate things together.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Vincent placed the two stallions into the foal-pen then left quickly without much fanfare, he was anxious to see the state of his latest litter in the basement. Left alone with the foals, Travis tried to get to work.
“Hewwo Twavis.” The two sisters Holly and Ivy chirped to their larger friend. “Am gud bwite-time?”
Travis faked a smile and nodded. “It am gud, how am babbehs duin?”
“Heheh, babbehs gud Twavis, wan pway baww?”
“Nu fanks, need keep see-pwace an udda babbehs, maybe wata.”
“Ok, byesie.” The two sisters toddled off to find a new playmate, Travis envied their simplistic minds, they’ve already forgotten about Eggplant and the horrors they’d seen, but Travis hadn’t, he could still see Eggplant’s guts being ripped out of him, he could still smell the blood leaking from Crow’s punctured neck, he could still hear the crack of his father’s skull.
Travis couldn’t forget, for whatever reason, he wasn’t allowed to.
Trying to take his mind off that misery, Travis turned back to Leon, finding the wounded stallion with Citrus, the little orange colt clinging to his father’s wound for dear life.
“Huu, daddeh hab wowstesh huwties, Citwus gib huggies make ebewyfing betta.”
“It ok babbeh, Fwuffy nu hab huwties.” Leon lied through his teeth as he winced at the pain, fighting through it to have his son cuddle him a little bit longer.
After a moment Leon looked up, seeing Travis watching them. “Babbe, gu pway wiv fwiends, daddeh hab tawk tu Twavis nyo.”
“Bu… ok daddeh.”
Disappointed to be leaving his father, Citrus trudged off to reluctantly join the other foals in their games, Leon waited until Citrus was far enough away not to hear them, then he turned Travis.
“Yu Twavis? Da Munstah’s speciaw-fwiend?”
“Hew namesie was Angew, an she gun nyo, weave Twavis an babbehs, aww babbehs am foweba sweepies nyo.”
“…Sowwy, Weon nu knyo dat. Citwus say yu gud Fwuffy, if babbeh twust Twavis den Weon twust Twavis.”
“Wha Weon wan? Neba wan tawkies tu Twavis befowe, wai nyo?”
Weon sighed, he looked down at the space where he leg used to be, before looking back at Travis.
“Weon see dat Twavis nu wan be hewe aneemowe, Twavis wan weave.”
“Yeh, su du aww Fwuffies in da bakwoom?”
“Bu Twavis am diffawent, Twavis undastan dat mistahs hewe am wowstesh munstah, huwt Fwuffies, gib babbehs foweba sweepies. Twavis wan weave cos he knyo dis am bad pwace fow Fwuffies tu be. Weon wan hewp Twavis.”
“Wha? Wai Weon hewp Twavis? Fot yu nu wike munstah speciaw-fwiend.”
“Weon nu hewp Twavis cos am fwiend, Weon hewp Twavis tu hewp Citwus. Babbeh nu desewve be hewe, munstah wan make him gib bad speciaw-huggies an take babbehs fwom him. Citwus am aww Weon hab weft of speciaw-fwiend, nu wan him hab wowstesh wife hewe, wan him gwow big an stwong an hab gud famiwy. Weon nu can weave, am dummeh thwee weggie Fwuffy nyo, nu can pwotect babbeh, bu Twavis can, Weon hewp Twavis an babbeh gu, an Twavis can pwotect babbeh.”
Travis felt his heart tighten in his chest, and he shook his head. “Nu, Twavis nu can wook afta babbeh, nu can eben pwotect own babbehs.”
“Pwease, Weon nu hab anee udda way. Weon can hewp Twavis gu, bu need take babbeh wiv dem.”
Travis didn’t know, he so desperately wanted to leave this place, to feel the free air on his Fluff again, but to take a foal with him, a young soul he had to protect so soon after losing his own children? That was a hard ask.
But then… maybe it wasn’t, Travis’ problem last time was trying to find milk for his newborns, Citrus was old enough to eat big Fluffy nummies, and Travis knew how to find them out in the streets. Maybe they had a chance after all.
“If Twavis pwomise wook afta Citwus, den Weon hewp Twavis weave meanie pwace?”
Leon nodded, a small smile growing on his face for what felt like the first time in forever. “Weon hab pwan, if need wait fow neks bwite-time, need Mistah Gus fow pwan tu wowk.”
As Leon laid out his escape plan, Travis felt a rare spark of hope in his chest, this was dangerous, but possible. With any luck, by tomorrow he would be a free Fluffy.
The rest of the day went smoothly, as Vincent had suggested, the foals were all well-behaved, while Travis noted that none of them seemed to remember what exactly happened to Eggplant, it seemed that their minds had taken the lesson to heart; bad Fluffies get punished. There were no issues to report and Travis was returned to his cage feeling slightly better about himself.
All of that suited Vincent just fine, as he danced up the stairs, singing away to himself.
“We’re in the money, we’re in the money. HAHA, tis a glorious fucking day boys.”
“Du mistah Vin-sent hab heawt-happies?” Travis asked.
“Oh you best believe it Travis, my little pot-of-gold as given us seven, SEVEN, primo foals. An absolute goldmine of a mare if I’ve ever seen one.”
Vincent playfully tapped Travis on the nose, humming away to himself. Travis instinctively went to cover his nose, his programming telling him he’d just been hit and had to hug the sore point. But as he did, he inhaled something, a faint wisp of a musky smell lingering on Vincent’s fingers.
It smelt somewhat familiar, and it smelt good.
“Mistah Vin-sent, wha am smeww on yuw nu-hoofs?”
“What are you… oh that, well I’ve been knuckle-deep in a mare all afternoon, you’re probably smelling her mare scent. You like that smell Travis?”
Travis tried to hold himself steady, not wanting to give into any base desires when his goal of escape was mere hours away. But it was such a nice smell and it had been some time, and he could feel his hips involuntarily bucking.
Vincent chuckled. “Yeah you like that, tell you what, the little cash-cow’s ready to go, and judging by her litter I think he genes are strong enough to fight off whatever you’ve got going on. Besides, you’ve been a good worker, maybe clearing your pipes will clear your head, consider this payment for a job well-done.”
Travis shook his head, all while his hips kept “Dat ok mistah, enf, Vin-sent, Twavis nu, enf, wan be pwob…enf, pwobwem.”
“Ha, not a problem Travis, we all need to let out a few frustrations ever now and again, and I bet you’re full of them.”
Before Travis could protest, Vincent picked up out of his cage and carried him to the basement. Almost instantly, Travis felt the lustful excitement in his chest die out as his senses were assaulted with the stench of misery.
Anguished cries of pain and loss echoed through the dark recesses, the ripe stink of decay and shit permeated into the woodwork, and even in the low, almost headache inducing light, Travis could see walls of mares, lines up like cattle, some missing limbs, some missing eyes, some missing everything but a head and a special-place.
“Now I know this place might seem scary to you Travis, but this is how me and Gus get the money we need to keep you all safe and happy. Besides you’ll be in one of our secluded rooms, nothing in there to distract you.”
Travis said nothing, his little heart beating so hard it was nearly pounding out of his chest, he wanted out, he wanted to go back upstairs and wake up from this nightmare.
Vincent eventually carried him through to one of the room off to the side, away from the horrific sights but Travis could still hear the faint wails through the walls. Inside, Gus was hand-feeding seven very pretty foals, most of them Alicorns, and all of them with shining Fluff of white, green or gold.
“She good to go?” Vincent asked.
Gus nodded. “Maybe a little sensitive, there was a little more bleeding than I’d anticipated, but everything looks ok from what I can see. Got enough milk out of her, that’s the main thing.
“Good, get the kiddos outta here, I’ll let Travis have his privacy. You’re gonna love this one Travis, she’s a real Angel.”
Time froze, and so did Travis. He stared on in abject horror as millimetre by agonising millimetre, Gus stepped out of the room, revealing the battered, bloodied and disfigured body of Angel. She was stuck in wooden frame to hold her pillowed body, her had been sewn shut and her mouth was covered by a feeding mask, but Travis recognised the mare who had saved him from the worst pain of his life.
And he couldn’t do the same for her, instead he had spent their time apart grieving for their lost children and hating her for leaving, when she hadn’t left at all. Travis was the worst special-friend of all time.
Travis was still frozen when Vincent placed him on the table beside Angel, his eyes wide and his mouth open, too shocked to even think let alone speak. Vincent took his horror in the wrong direction.
“I know, isn’t she a beaut? Well look me and Gus are gonna get the foals settled in, try and get one of the milk-mares to look after them, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted, and don’t worry Travis, feel free to use her and much as you want.”
The two men shut the door, the loud jolt took Travis by surprise but his focus was still on Angel. Her once crisp white Fluff was matted and filthy, covered in blood and dirt, her shimmering golden mane now dulled and wiry, even her beautiful wings were gone, all that remained were two ghastly wounds on her back. Taken in order to allow more stallions to use her and not be put off by a monster mare.
Travis just sat there and sobbed, if he had only stayed with her, if he had only waited that little bit, he could’ve saved her, he could’ve saved their children, he could’ve been the partner and father he dreamed of being with her. Instead, they were two broken souls and a dead family, trapped in a dank, depressing basement.
Eventually Travis stepped forward, he reached out a trembling hoof towards Angel’s frame.
“Speciaw-fwiend?”
She made no movement, no indication that she had heard him, Travis looked up, Angel still had her ears but how well they worked he couldn’t say. Carefully he placed a hoof onto her face, there was no warmth, no love, just an empty shell of a Fluffy, long rasping breaths the only indication she was even there.
“Am su sowwy speciaw-fwiend, Twavis am wowstesh Fwuffy. Fot yu weave, fot yu nu wub Twavis, nu wub babbehs, Twavis hatchu fow wongesh time bu… yu nu weave, yu taken by meanesh mistahs and Twavis nu can sabe yu, nu can sabe…”
Travis felt a lump in his throat, Angel was already in the worst Hell, Travis couldn’t bring himself to make it even worst for her.
“Twavis nu hab miwkies fow babbehs, bu Fwuffy find hoomin who gib babbehs miwkies, dey take babbehs tu nyu homesie wiv wots of miwkies an huggies an wub. Dey nu hab woom fow Fwuffy, hab biggesh heawt-huwties tu see babbehs gu, bu Fwuffy knyo dey am safe nyo. Speciaw-fwiend nu hab tu wowwy, babbeh am aww gud.”
For a brief moment, Travis believed his own lie, until he looked back up at his disfigured love and reality crashed down on him again. Travis gave Angel one final hug before turning away, unable to look at her as he waited for Vincent to return, the guilt and pain too much for him to bare.
By a cruel twist of fate, Angel hadn’t even heard his lies, the damage from her traumatic childbirth had caused severe rupture inside her body, Angel had been slowly bleeding out all day, her wounds too much for her quick healing to effectively take place.
Angel had died not long after Travis was brought into the room, her final thoughts ignited by his familiar smell, wondering how long he had been searching for her and pleading for her love to save her from the cold darkness that swallowed her whole just before she could feel his touch again.
