Chapter 29: The First Mistake
Travis found Soot by the edge of the lake the next morning, even with her black Fluff he could make out a nasty bruise on her face and dried blood from her busted lip, all evidence of Ramsey’s assault last night.
She saw him edging towards her, she put on a fake smile and turned away.
“It am nuffin.”
“Dat nu am nuffin Soot, Wam-see gib wowstesh huwtie tu yu,yu am stiww babbeh, dat nu am wight.”
“Am awmosh big Fwuffy.” Soot whispered with a tremble in her voice, terrified of her fast approaching maturity.
“Dat mean nuffin, Wam-see stiww nu shouwd gib huwties wike dat. Moshwy nu tu own babbeh.”
There was a short but noticeable shudder that fired through Soot’s body, she had expected Travis to mention this but still hearing the words reminded her of just how hopeless her situation was.
“Wai Soot nu say Wam-see am daddeh?”
“Cos Soot nu wan say it. Cos den it weaw. Soot hab tu say dat daddeh am biggesh meanie, dat he gib mummah wowstesh speciaw-huggies, dat he wet bwuddas an sissies gu foweba sweepies, wet mummah gib own foweba sweepies, dat he nu eben wan say Soot am babbeh, dat he wan gib own babbeh speciaw-hug…”
Soot stopped and lurched forward, her own body rejected the sickening words in her mouth. After holding back the vomit, she took some deep breathes and turned to face Travis.
“If yuw daddeh was munstah tuu, yu wan teww fwiends?”
Travis sighed, knowing she was right. This poor filly had gone through so much in such a short period of life, it was no wonder she sounded even older than Travis did.
“Wam-see need gu foweba sweepies, Soor knyo dat wight?”
Soot nodded. “Wam-see nu am daddeh, he jus Fwuffy whu gib mummah bad huggies. Soot nu cawe wha happen.”
“Soot knyo how udda Fwuffies be wen Wam-see gu foweba sweepies?”
“Wha Twavis mean?”
“Yu fink Fwuffies hab happies, angwies? Twavis nu wan du meanie fing den hab Fwuffies angwy at him.”
“Wai Twavis cawe? If Twavis gib Wam-see foweba sweepies, den Twavis am nyu Smawty, Fwuffies wisten tu yu aneeway.”
“Joffwey nu wisten, nu fink Cawwot wisten tuu.”
“Den Twavis nu need dem.”
Soot gave Travis a final serious look before she turned back towards the hut, Travis stayed by the lake a while longer, just enough to feel the cold grip of suicide start to tug at him before he shook his head and quickly walked away.
“So Fwuffies weawwy du dis?”
Travis nodded to Breaker’s question, the two of them and Crusher hid away in their mouldy corner of the hut, moments away from another food hunt as Travis filled them in on the plan.
“Wait tiww da dawk-time, wen Joffwey take miwkies fwom soon-mummah fwiends, Twavis teww him dat am meanie fing tu du. Joffwey cwy wike wittew babbeh, hab Wam-see make shouties at Twavis, he nu see Bweaka gib sowwy-hoofies tiww he awweady foweba sweepies.”
Breaker couldn’t help but smirk, finally able to give that piece of shit Ramsey what he deserved.
“Wha wan Cwusha du?”
“Cwusha take cawe of Cawwot, he hab angwies wen Wam-see gu foweba sweepies, need him nu be pwobwem.”
“Wan Cwusha gib him foweba sweepies?”
Travis thought for a moment, he wanted to keep casualties to an absolute minimum, but he also knew that Carrot wasn’t likely to listen to reason.
“Twavis gib him choosies, be pawt of nyu hewd, ow gu foweba sweepies. Den it on Cawwot wha happen tu him.”
Travis looked up and saw Ramsey glaring up him, the fat Smarty was obviously annoyed they hadn’t gone yet, not that they were struggling for food right now but that clearly didn’t matter to him.
“Fwiends gu, Twavis stay hewe and tawkies tu soon-mummah fwiends git dem weady fow dawk-time pwan.”
Breaker and Crusher nodded before heading out to look for more food, Travis waited until they were gone to start walking over to where Raisin and Lillypad were. Only he didn’t get very far before Carrot got in his way.
“Wai dummeh nu wiv udda nummie findas?”
“Fwuffy hab weggie huwties, jus swow fwiends down. Wan git gud nummies befowe dawk-time, Fwuffy find mowe neks bwite time.”
Carrot sneered at Travis before rolling his eyes and turning away.
“Dummeh betta, ow ewse Cawwot gib wowstesh huwties.”
As Carrot left to deliver Travis’ lie to Ramsey, Travis himself continued on his trip towards the soon-mummahs, both Raisin and Lilypad were exhausted, Lilypad’s teats were reddened and bleeding slightly from where Joffrey had engorged himself the night before. Behind them both, Shitbrick set about keeping both of them clean.
“Fwiends feew betta?” Shitbrick asked, trying to keep his latest taste of shit down in his stomach.
“Nu, bu fank yu fow trying.” Raisin faked a smike. “Waisin feew pwetty gain.”
Lilypad just mumbled, whimpering about her foal’s milk being stolen again. She barely noticed when Travis sat down next to her.
“Wai am Travis nu ousside?” Raisin asked. “Nu wook fow nummies?”
“Fwiends wook fow nummies, Twavis wan tawkies tu soon-mummahs an Shitbwick. Twavis hab pwan, gun git wid of Wam-see, need hewp.”
A silence fell over them all, broken only by a smell ‘eek’ that slipped through Shitbrick’s lips.
“Git wid of Wam-see?” Lilypad whispered, finally broken out of her trance. “How Twavis du dat?”
“Wen Joffwey take miwkies fwom soon-mummah fwiends, Twavis gu teww him dat meanie fing. Joffwey git Wam-see tu make shouties at Twavis, distwact him fwom Bweaka gibben Wam-see foweba sweepies.”
Lilypad trembled and shook her head. “Nu, nu can hab wowstesh meanie Joffwet take miwkies gain, gib mummah wowstesh heawt-huwties.”
Raisin leaned over, a feat in itself given her almost immobile state, and gently stroked Lilypad’s side. “It onwy wun mowe time Wiwypad, den soon-mummahs can keep aww da miwkies fow babbehs. Be stwong fow babbehs.”
Lilypad still trembled, but a slight smile appeared on her face and she nodded. “Ok, Wiwypad be bwave fow babbehs.”
Travis turned to Raisin. “Fank yu, nu wan gib huwties bu undastan dis am scawy fing tu ask.”
“Waisin wan hewp, wan be mummah and nu wose mowe babbehs.”
Travis and Raisin caught eyes with each other, and both of them immediately turned away, a shy smile on both their faces.
Travis felt that tingle again.
So distracted by the sensation was he, that Travis almost missed Shitbrick sneaking away.
“Shitbwick, wai weave, need tawkies pwan wiv yu.”
Shitbrick shook his head. “Nu wan be pawt of pwan, Shitbwick nu can du dis, am tuu scawdie of Wam-see.”
“Bu Wam-see am biggesh meanie tu Shitbwick, Twavis wet Shitbwick be pawt of hewd, gib weaw nummies, and huggies, twy find Shitbwick speciaw-fwiend.”
Shitbrick still shook his head. “Nu-wun wan be speciaw-fwiends wib poopie nu wump dummeh.”
Shitbrick ran outside, trying not to start crying out loud. Travis went to follow him until he saw Soot chasing after Shitbrick, the black filly gave Travis a look that explained she would look after him. Satisfied that Soot would console Shitbrick, Travis returned to Raisin and Lilypad.
“Dis dawk-time, be weady.”
Travis was surprised how easily sleep came to him that night. Part of him was anxious about this plan, it could still easily backfire but the reward was worth it, taking out Ramsey and securing this land for his new herd would go a long way in preparing them for the incoming winter.
Travis had never experienced winter before, but Breaker and Crusher had and the stories they told were among the scariest Travis had ever heard. They needed to be prepared, and they couldn’t do that with Ramsey bludgeoning his way through the herd’s resources.
And yet despite that, Travis was laying down long before Breaker and Crusher had even returned, potentially the worry of failure had worn him out much sooner than he expected, maybe he subconsciously wanted to wake up early and catch Joffrey in the act. Whatever his reason, Travis was conked out fairly quickly, good thing too as when the time came and the faint sounds of whimpering could be heard Travis was wide awake and ready for action.
Slowly rolling over, Travis readied himself to catch Joffrey, he knew the loud shouting from Ramsey would wake Breaker and Crusher, all he needed to do was shout loud enough to wake Ramsey.
Or at least he would’ve, if he didn’t roll over and find himself face to face with a very awake and very angry Ramsay.
“Yu dummeh.”
Before Travis could react, Ramsey kicked him in the face so hard Travis was lifted off the ground, he landed on the ground with his mouth drenched in blood, his nose twisted in the wrong direction and one of his teeth dropping out from the force of the impact.
“HUUU! WOWSTESH SMEWW PWACE HUWTIES!” Travis wailed out, trying to spit out the horrid taste of his own blood. Ramsey stormed over to him.
“DAT WHA DUMMEH TWAVIS GIT! TWY PWAY TWICKS ON SMAWTY!”
Ramsey kicked Travis again, not as hard but enough to leave a nasty bruise on his side. Travis winced at the pain but as it subsided and his vision cleared, he saw just how fucked up his plans had become.
To his left, Crusher and Breaker were both beaten and bloodied, clearly haven been caught off-guard by Carrot and Ramsey. Carrot had his hoof pressed to the back of Crusher’s skull whilst Joffrey sat his fat form on top of Breaker, occasionally wiggling his shit stained behind into Breaker’s face and cackling away.
Travis knew Breaker could easily kill Joffrey, even in that awkward position, but to do so would put Crusher at risk, and there was no way Breaker would put his special-friend in harm’s way.
And to Travis’ right, Raisin and Lilypad sat huddled together, both stained with piss and shit from the horrors they had witnessed, not far from them, Soot lay uncomfortably on the ground as a hoof kept him stuck in place.
A broken, brown hoof.
“Shitbwick, wai?” Travis whispered, seeing the brown stallion working on the side of his own abusers.
“Am sowwy Twavis.” Shitbrick choked out. “Nu wan mowe huwties, nu wan Twavis pwan gu wong an Wam-see hab mowe angwies wiv Shitbwick.”
“YU AM COWAWD!” Breaker yelled out before having Joffrey run his shitty ass over his muzzle.
“RRRREEEEEE!!! NU TAWKIES DUMMEH! Yu am Joffwey wittabox nyo.”
Breaker spluttered at the shitty taste but kept quiet, not wanting to push his luck. Ramsey stepped in front of Travis, smirking at the unicorn.
“Shitbwick am gud Fwuffy, teww Smawty wha dummeh Twavis pwannin, say onwy wan nu tu hab huwties. Dat aww he wan fow teww Smawty aww wha Twavis du.”
“Yu am biggesh meanie, Twavis gib yu foweba sweepies.”
“DUMMEH TWAVIS NU GIB SMAWTY FOWEBA SWEEPIES, ONWY SMAWTY GIB FOWEBA SWEEPIES!”
Ramsey kicked Travis again, this time in his shoulder, Travis winced at his felt something move in the wrong direction, not broken but definitely fractured.
“HNNNGGGHHH!!! Weggie huwties, nu wike.”
Ramsay spat at him. “Smawty gun gib yu wowstesh huwties, gun take aww yu weggies, den aww yuw teethies, den yuw wumps, den make yu into enfie mawe.”
Ramsey threw his head back to laugh, and for a brief moment, in the low light of the moon shining through the cracks in the wood, Travis saw Crow’s face imposed onto Ramsey’s.
The moment passed and Ramsey returned, still glaring at Travis. “Smawty gun du aww dat, bu gun gib yu heawt-huwties fiwst.”
Before Travis could do anything, Ramsey grabbed Raisin and dragged her forward, throwing her in front of Travis.
“Huu, nu wike, am bad fow tummeh-babbehs.”
Ramsey ignored her, he kicked her onto her back and pressed his hoof onto her extended stomach. Shitbrick’s eyes went wide, he raced forward, completely forgetting about Soot under him.
“Smawty wha duin, pwease nu huwt Waisin, she fwiend.”
“NU TAWKIES POOPIES DUMMEH! Ow Smawty make yu enf da poopie babbeh.”
Shitbrick cowered back and retreated to where he’d been, whimpering to himself about how wrong all of this was. Then he froze up when he realised he couldn’t see Soot anymore.
Unaware of Shitbrick’s realising, Ramsey turned back to Travis. “Smawty teww yu dese am Smawty babbehs, Smawty can du wha wan tu babbehs. Dummeh Twavis wan sabe da babbehs, wan sabe da pwetty mawes an be nyu Smawty. DEN TWAVIS CAN TWY IT!”
And with that, Ramsey stomped a hoof down onto Raisin’s stomach, there was a loud farting noise followed by a disgusting splash of fluids and several small, wet thuds hitting the wooden floor.
“NUUUHHUUUUHUUUUU!!! BABBEHS!”
Travis looked, and in the low light he could make out the tiny figures of Raisin’s foals, all vaguely Fluffy shaped, but pink and wet and slimy from amniotic fluids and blood. He could see six of them in total, four of them weren’t moving at all, the other two, the largest of the brood, stuck out their tiny, undeveloped limbs as their non-existent lungs struggled for breath, their broken vocal chords let out rasping coughs and grating chirps as they quickly but painfully passed on from their premature arrival.
Raisin, now back to regular size without the pregnancy bulk, flipped over and gazed upon the sight, immediately breaking out into tears.
“NUUUU! AM MUMMAH NU MOWE! WOSE BABBEHS GAIN!”
Travis swayed in place before something inside him twisted and he immediately threw up.
“Wai du dat?” He spat out between vomiting. “Wai gib own babbehs foweba sweepies?”
Ramsey sneered. “Cos Smawty can. Cos Smawty knyo yu wan be nyu Smawty, pwotect dese dummeh fwom ‘meanie Wam-see’. WEWW SMAWTY SHOW YU WAI YU WOSE! SMAWTY NU CAWE BOUT DUMMEHS, NU CAWE BOUT BABBEHS! Smawty gib aww Fwuffies foweba sweepies if wan, dey am NUFFIN tu Smawty, bu den am sumfing tu Twavis. An dat mean yu awway be weak, yu awways…”
“AAAAAHHHHH!”
A sudden high-pitched squeal from the darkness caught everyone’s attention, Joffrey turned around just in time to see Soot charging at him, her head colliding with his exposed testicle and knocking him clean off of Breaker’s face.
“RRRRREEEEEEEE!!! RRRRREEEEE!!! WUMP HUWTIES! BWUDDA SABE JOFFWEY!!!”
The sudden shock was all they needed, Breaker recovered first, slamming he full weight into Carrot before the Pegasus even knew what was going on, Crusher freed himself and joined his mate in attacking Carrot before he could right himself.
Travis’s attention turned to Ramsey, the fat Smarty too distracted between his cry-baby brother’s wails for help, and his lone toughie being pummelled by two rebellious stallions.
Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Travis lowered his horn and charged at Ramsey.
