Prologue
“Hewwo,” the white pegasus mare seemed happy to see Buddy, which was a reaction he hadn’t expected after weeks in solitude. He’d been unconscious when he’d been bathed, and hadn’t realized that the fluffy repellant was gone, since he’d become so accustomed to the smell that he didn’t notice it anymore. “Nyu fwiend?”
“This is Buddy,” Alice said. “He’s had a very bad time recently, so he has bad heart-hurties. Can you be nice to him so he feels better, Snowball?”
“Otay. Hewwo, Buddy, Snowbaww gib huggies an’ maek heawt-huwties gu 'way!”
“Buddy nu wan huggies. Buddy jus’ wan die.”
Snowball looked appalled. “Bu’ forebah-sweepies nu am gud fow fwuffy. Fwuffy am fow huggies an’ wub an’ pwayin! Nu am fow fowebag-sweeipes!”
“Buddy speciaw-fwiend an’ babbehs gu forebah-sweepies. Buddy nu wan wibe nu mowe!”
Snowball looked up pleadingly at Alice, as if asking for something she could say. Alice, however, just sighed and shook her head. “It’s going to take a while before he’s feeling better, Snowball.”
“Bu’ Snowbaww nu wan Buddy tu hab heawt-huwties! Nu wan Buddy tu gu forebah-sweepies!”
Buddy shook his head. He appreciated the kindness, somewhere deep down, but right now he was too depressed for it to make much difference in how he felt. Right now, he couldn’t see a future where things got better, and all he wanted was an end. Still, a tiny flicker of hope, lost somewhere in the pit of despair, began to shine a little brighter.
“Buddy nu wan maek Snowbaww hab sad,” he said. “Bu’ Buddy nu hab famiwy nu mowe, nu hab daddeh, nu hab babbehs ow speciaw-fwiend! Buddy nu hab nuffin bu’ heawt-huwties! Nu wan nu mowe, jus’ wan die! Jus’ wan be wiff famiwy 'gain!”
“Snowbaww an’ mummah be Buddy’s nyu famiwy!”
“Buddy nu wan nyu famiwy! Wan speciaw-fwiend an’ babbehs back! NU WAN DUMMEH SNOWBAWW OR DUMMEH MUMMAH!”
Snowball flinched, both from the insult and because she knew what happened when fluffies said mean things. She looked up at her mummah again, and pleaded. “Nu gib Buddy sowwy-stick, mummah! Pwease! Buddy nu mean say meanie wowds!”
“I know, he’s just hurting right now. Look, I don’t think talking about this is going to help right now. How about you show him around the saferoom instead?”
“Otay! Tank 'ou, mummah!”
Snowball began walking around the room, and after a few soft nudges from Alice, Buddy followed. “Dis am nestie, am wawmest an’ bestest pwace fow sweepie-times. Dis am wittew-box, fow gud poopies an’ peepees. Dese am toysies, hab bwockies an’ baww an’ stuffy-fwiend. Dese am nummies an wawa bowws fow wen fwuffies hab tummeh-huwties ow tawkie-pwace huwties. An’ dis,” Snowball’s voice dropped. “Am sowwy-box wewe fwuffies gu wen fwuffies am bad. Nu wike sowwy-box. Buddy wike safewoom?”
“Safewoom am nice. Wike Buddy owd safewoom before daddeh hab taek toysies an’ nesties an’ gud nummies 'way.”
“Buddy’s daddeh taek toysies an’ nesties 'way? Wai?”
“Daddeh say nu hab ‘monies’ fow nice tings fow fwuffies, onwy hab ‘monies’ fow nice tings fow babbehs ow fow Buddy. Buddy nu wan babbehs nu hab nice tings, su Buddy’s daddeh taek Buddy’s nice tings.”
Snowball seemed confused by this. “Bu’ mummah say onwy nee’ monies fow nyu toysies an’ nesties, nu nee’ monies fow ting 'ou awweady hab…”
“Wut?”
“Buddy’s owd daddeh am siwwy. Nu hab taek Buddy’s toysies an’ nestie 'way if nu hab monies.”
Something clicked in Buddy’s mind. His old daddeh had killed his babbehs, so why had he believed him when he’d said he needed to take his nest and toys away? Suddenly, he realized the truth. “Buddy’s owd daddeh taek 'way Buddy’s toysies and nesties tu huwt Buddy! Buddy’s owd daddeh were munstah daddeh! Gib babbehs forebah-sweepies tuu! Buddy hatchu, meanie owd munstah daddeh! Hatchu, hatchu, HATCHU!”
Snowball stepped back, surprised by the sudden outburst. “Buddy’s owd daddeh gib babbehs forebah-sweepies? Wai? Onwy bad fwuffies an’ hoomins gib babbehs forebah-sweepies!”
“Buddy’s owd daddeh am wowstest daddeh ebah! Taek 'way everyfing fwom Buddy! Maek Buddy wan die! CAFF! CAFF!”
“Buddy,” Alice said as she reached down and gently stroked his fluff. “Calm down, you’re still sick. Don’t shout.”
“CAFF! BUDDY NU CAWE! BUDDY HAB WOWSTEST ANGWIES!” Buddy was struggling to handle the alien emotion; he’d never hated anyone before.
“Buddy, do you want to make your old daddeh sad?”
“Buddy wan huwt owd daddeh! Wan gib forebah-sweepies!”
“Well, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do that, but there’s a way you can take something away from him.”
“Wut am dat?”
“You can take away the satisfaction of making you suffer, of leaving you to die. By living. By being happy.”
“Bu’ Buddy wan die!”
“You want your old daddeh to win?”
“NU! Buddy wan die bu nu wan munstah daddeh tu win!”
“Well, you can’t have both, I’m afraid. Don’t worry, you don’t have to decide yet. Just think about it.”
“BUDDY NU WAN HAB HEAWT-HUWTIES OR ANGWIES NU MOWE,” he wailed, clearly torn. “Buddy jus’ wan famiwy back!”
“If you stay here, you can have a new family and make your old daddeh lose.”
“Buddy nu nyo nu mowe!”
“Okay, okay. That’s enough of that. Buddy, you should be able to eat, so how about I make some sketties for both of you?”
“SKETTIES! SNOWBAWW WUB SKETTIES!”
“Otay. Buddy hab tummeh-huwties. Buddy wiww num. Tank 'ou, nice wady.”
“You can call me mummah.”
“Tank 'ou, mummah.”
Alice suppressed a sigh as she looked down at his face, still contorted with anger, but slowly relaxing. That might not have been the right thing to do; fluffies weren’t meant to be able to handle or understand hatred. Still, it was probably better than the fluffy’s previous depressed state, she hoped. Better to live for revenge than to die for nothing. Better to live.
Part Two
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Poor Buddy. If only he knew, his revenge has come true already.
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How’s that?
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Spoilers
Hence my previous comment.
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Looking forward to seeing more!
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I see. Must have skimmed that part, my bad.
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That’s… Actually not true. But I understand the silly fluffy minds. Glad to see a-bit-hugbox start for Buddy