Apple, Ella and Lily wandered together through the forest, babbling about how pretty the green plants were and how the light showed through the trees. Occasionally, they heard scary noises, like a branch falling, and had to hide beneath their hooves, but they were able to comfort each other with hugs.
“Stiww hab su many tummy huwties, need nummies, Appwe find nummies fow gud Ewwa?”
“Yus! Appwe am gud at finding nummies! Den Appwe find nice mistahs su fwuffies get nyu daddehs an mummahs!”
“Appwe am gud fwuffy! Ewwa wub Appwe su muchies!”
“Huuu, weggie stiww hab huwties, Wiwy am tiwed…”
“Ewwa sowwy Wiwy hab huwties, Ewwa wubs Wiwy, du Wiwy wan mow huggies?”
“Nu, Wiwy wan find nummies…hab su many tummy huwties…”
Apple couldn’t understand why they were going so long without food, the nice misters always brought it to them, why had it suddenly stopped? Were they not good fluffies? No, that couldn’t be right, Apple always used the litterbox, always was nice and gave hugs, he even didn’t have scaredy poopies when the nice misters took him to get pointy hurties! He must have been one of the bestest fluffies of them all! So why didn’t he have any nummies?
There was this nagging, burning thought in the back of his mind, not really a thought, more like this…feeling, like when he had to go poopies, except it was constantly there. With this thing in his head, he wanted to make something, he didn’t know what it was, but it was some sort of bed, like what he had with the nice misters, except it also was under something. In fact, for some reason, every time he looked up and could see the sky, he felt a shiver down his spine. He didn’t know why, the sky was so pretty! Why did he feel scared? He also felt something else with the two mares, alongside the need to protect them, he also wanted to have babies with them. He didn’t know how to do that, he had never seen it happen, but something told him he had to keep his special lumps safe in order for that to happen. He also could tell it wasn’t the right time, something didn’t smell right about the mares. For now, he wanted to find a safe place, and find food. Nothing else was needed.
“Appwe smeww pwace hab funny feewing, Appwe…Appwe wan fowwow smeww pwace!”
“Appwe smeww pwace am tewwin Appwe whewe nummies awe? Appwe smeww space am smawt! Am bestest smeww pwace, Ewwa wubs!”
Apple turned and started a new path with conviction, waddling as fast as he could, the feeling in his smell place was getting stronger and stronger, it was like the opposite of when he was close to poopies! It must be a good thing!
Eventually, the three fluffies enter a new part of the forest, and Lily trips again. However, this time, it’s not over a root.
“Owwies! Wiwy hab wowstest weggie huwties gain!”
“Ewwa wiww gib bestest huggies…Wat am dat? Am dat baww? Wiwy find bestest baww toysie!”
“Nu, dat nu am baww, dat am nummies!”
Apple excitedly pawed at the round red treat, he knew what this was, it was what he was named after! He tried to bite it, but with his dull teeth and weak jaw, he had a hard time getting a grip. Finally, he found a softer part, and bit through the red skin of the fruit, and sweet juice filled his mouth. It was the best thing he ever ate, and with the first bite, he was able to take more, filling his cheeks.
“Huuu, pwease wet Ewwa hab some nummies Appwe, pwease, hab su many tummy huwties!”
“Nu! Appwe need nummies fiwst! Appwe am bestest fwuffy!”
“Ewwa! Dewe am mowe nummies! Wiwy find wots of baww nummies!”
Soon all three of them were greedily working at their own apples, moving on to second and thirds. They had unknowingly stumbled across an old abandoned orchard, long reclaimed by the forest, but a few of the apple trees had survived, and at this point in the year, were just beginning to drop salvation for the fluffies. They were even able to find something that satisfied Apple’s weird mind feeling, a fallen, hollowed out tree trunk, with enough room for all three of them to make a fluff pile. There even was a small stream a little ways away, not big enough to be scary, but with enough water to support them, it really was a paradise for the little herd. As the sky darkened, Apple, Ella and Lily would experience what most escapees from the plant didn’t, a safe warm fluffpile with full bellies.
The next morning, Lily would wake up first, feeling the familiar stirring of her guts, and slowly got up and waddled away from the fluff pile.
“Need make good poopies, nu wan make nyu fwends maddies, huu…”
She does her business, but before returning, she notices a yellow thing buzzing and flying around, and is quickly distracted.
“Huh? Pwetty buzzy fwend am same cowow as Wiwy! Wan be bestest fwends wif Wiwy pwetty buzzy fwend? Nuuu! Nu fwy way pwetty buzzy fwend! Wiwy nu hab wingies!”
Lily waddled after the bee as quickly as she could, not noticing or caring how far from the others she was going, until eventually the bee took off higher than she could see, and Lily was left alone.
“Hewwo? Ewwa? Appwe? Wiwy am wost! Uhuuhuu, Wiwy am dummeh fwuffy! Nu knu whewe am! Pwease hewp Wiwy!”
She wandered for a bit, trying to look and listen for her friends, before crawling through a thicket, and coming face to face with a large stream, much bigger than any kind of water she’d seen before, and deep enough to drown a fluffy easily. Panic gripped her, but the stream would soon be the least scary thing to her.
“Ghreeeeurk…blaffbleaahk…”
Lily froze, then turned to look downstream, and saw the scariest thing she’d ever seen.
It was the same size as her, but mostly hairless, it’s skin pink and raw looking. Covered in scratches, some of which had scabbed over, some were fresh and bleeding. It had the same proportions as a fluffy, a round body, short legs, but it’s head was larger, it’s face flatter, and its eyes were bulging, its nose was also more pronounced, instead of a snout, it had a down turn arch, with its nostrils pointing towards its mouth, which was too wide and hanging open. It was as if it didn’t have any cheeks, and with its open mouth a row of rotten teeth were visible, instead of all being flat like a fluffy, a variety of flat, pointed and stubby teeth were there. Instead of a body being covered in fluff, just the top of its head, on the pits of its forelegs, and between its rear legs were covered in thick, greasy bushes of black hair. At the ends of its stubby legs, strange bumpy structures capped with cloved hooves awkwardly held the thing up, like a combination of the nice misters not hooves and the nummies dishes she had used in her old home. It looked around wildly, its eyes seemed unfocused and staring in different directions, Until one eye locked on Lily.
“HAJAKRREEAL! NAURYEELEK!”
It fell back on its hindquarters and tried to turn away from her, but one of its forelimbs stepped off the edge of the shore, hitting a steep muddy slide. It slipped, its body flailing as it tumbled into the stream, screaming hoarsely, until a splash silenced it. Lily watched as the shape of it vanished beneath the water, not even noticing or caring how she had soiled herself throughout the experience, frozen in fear, until he heard her friends voices faintly calling out for her.
“Wiwy!? Pwease come back to Ewwa, Ewwa miss Wiwy! Wan fwend back! Wan huggies! Ewwa scawed!”
Lily slowly waddled toward the sound of Ella’s voice, but the image of the thing never left her mind.