“Daddeh? Wai babbeh in sowwy boxie? Nu can see wawws, bu nu can wun an pway! Dewe nu am enuff woom fow babbeh!”
The confused foal was pacing in the small glass tank he had been placed in by his owner. He didn’t have much room to move, so he mostly just took a couple steps, made a scared gurgling whimper, turned around, and repeated. Daddeh left him for several minutes after placing him inside, but now he was back! And he had a little plastic box.
“Gasp! Daddeh, am dose nummie tweets? Suuuu happies!” Not saying a word, the man approached the tank, opened the plastic tub, and dumped about forty Deer Ticks on the excitable green pegasus.
“Screeeeee! Buggies! Daddeh, Twee nu wike! Pwease sabe Twee fwum meanie buggies!” some of them latched on right away, but he was able to swipe most off. Spitting and hitting himself, he stumbled backwards into the glass wall. Startled, he tripped and fell forwards onto most of the ticks he’d managed to brush off.
They were all over him, biting and sucking. He was horrified by the scritching of their small legs as they dug into his skin. Some kept getting in his mouth, and the one’s who’d been on him the longest were really starting to itch and sting.
“Dadd-kaff-daddeh! Hewp! Buggies…huuuu buggies hab Twee! Buggies huwting daddeh’s babbeh!” His father again returned to the tank. Oh joy! Daddeh was here to save him!
Then daddeh dumped a tub of Botflies into the tank and sealed the lid. He sat down right next to the tank and silently watched his fluffy panic and struggle. The tick infested colt had stopped fighting the ticks and started running away from “scawie wingy buggies” due to the terrifying droning sound of their wings beating against their bodies.
“Nuuuuuu! Daddeh pwease sabe Twee! Buggies twying tu make Twee intu nummies! Nu wan be nummie babbeh, wan daddeh huggies! Hewp!” The botflies started latching on to lay eggs. For every one he swatted, he missed three. “Huuuuu wai su manneh buggie munstas? Buggies givin huwties tu gud babbeh!”
He started to get dizzy as the last of the flies laid their eggs. As he passed out he swore he could hear his mummah. Why did she leave him with this meanie hoomin? Why was daddeh working for the meanie buggies? Did the meanie buggies hurt daddeh? He tried to understand, but he faded too quickly.
…
“See honey? I told you. You’re gonna have to see it through to the end.”
“Nuuuuu-hu-hu-huuuuuu! Baaaaaabbeeeeeeh-heh-heeeeeeeeh! Mummah suuuuuu sowwy nu can sabe poow wittwe chiwpeh! Wowstest heawt huwties!”
The heartbroken mare watched as insects devoured her child. For hours she had to see as he almost regained consciousness only for the pain, blood loss, and rapidly spreading infections to drive him under again. By the time he was dead, she could see his ribs. All the life had been sucked out of her beautiful and happy son. Her babbeh had been a nummie babbeh not even for a fluffy or a big scawy munstah!
Her babbeh had been nummies for a bunch of meanie buggies that mummah could smash easily with her sorriest hoofsies. Tiny buggies that weren’t even animals had consumed her darling boy before her eyes, keeping him delirious and in excruciating pain while she watched everything he’d been disappear into the rapidly expanding bodies of the horrible bitey buggie munstahs. Then the first of the botfly larvae burst from his throat, and she vomited so much that she passed out.
She awoke back in her cage, pointed at the monitors showing the tank where her babbeh had just been desecrated. Daddeh walked in with Bestest Babbeh! Oh no! Mummah tried to call out, but daddeh had put a meanie baww in her mouth and she couldn’t make good tawkies or yellies! She strained against it for a bit before slumping down and weeping out of exhaustion. A sound from the monitor snapped her out of it.
“Alright little filly, before we play daddeh’s game, you’ll need a name. How about ‘Four?’”
“Hooway! Foow wub nyu namesie! But wai Foow in boxie?”
Without saying a word, daddeh lifted up a large bag onto his shoulder. He cut the corner over the tank, and fine white sand starting pouring in on top of the babbeh. “Nuuuuu! Daddeh, nu wike! Owwies! Tuu dwy in moufie! Scwatchy in see pwaces daddeh, sabe Foow!”
But mummah knew he wouldn’t. Nobody would. So she cried instead.