Derpy Daycare
By @Za
Originally Penned November 2nd, 2020
Chapter Seven
As I sat in Juniper’s office awaiting my fate, I couldn’t help but wonder what was coming. Police, I assumed. Why wouldn’t she call the police? I’d just beaten a defenseless animal within inches of its life. I felt beneath a monster. I felt like the devil, and I wish that had bothered me more than it did.
Juniper left me there for hours to ruminate on what I’d done. Literal hours. I watched the clock tick past as I sat there clicking pens and flipping sticky notes. I didn’t think about it. I really didn’t want to. I was surprised when she swung the door open as I bounced a cap eraser around the desk. I looked at her with genuine concern. I’d never seen her this worked up over anything. Her face was completely devoid of emotion, but rage was screaming from behind her dazzling eyes.
“MITCHELL PEARSON, WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
I sat there for a second. Not because I was in shock, but because I needed to decide which form the question took. There was the possibility that the question was rhetorical, so she expected an apology. However, maybe she was being literal and-
“WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?”
Okay, okay, fine, I’d just let her talk.
“COME ON, YOU’RE BETTER THAN THIS MITCHELL!”
I really wasn’t.
She breathed a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. She glared at me expectantly. It was at this point I noticed that tears were streaming down her face. Her makeup was running and there was blood all over her upper arms and lab coat. In that moment, I longed for the smile I’d grown to love. Any hint of that silly, buck-toothed grin would have washed my troubles away. But it wasn’t there. I saw only gritted teeth and a quivering lip.
Where had I gone so wrong? I had gone from having a pronounced dislike for fluffies to literally ripping one apart over a single weekend. I feared what would happen if I kept on that downward spiral. I worried about what I would hurt next… or who…
“Look, Juniper,” I began, hanging my head to hide my face. “If you’re gonna call the cops, just get it over with.” She looked at me with a softer expression than before, surveying me up and down. “I know it’s coming, so just go ahead and rip the bandage off.” She looked at me and removed her phone from her pocket. Her lock screen lit up to reveal a picture of her and Lollipop. I remained still, completely limp in my seat. I didn’t even care anymore. Getting mad wouldn’t save me now. There was no manipulating my way out of this one.
Instead of unlocking her phone and calling the cops, she just looked at the time with a nod.
“I’m not calling anyone,” she stated. She slipped the phone back into her pocket, looking up at me with vulnerability in her eyes. “What happened?”
So I explained everything. Every feral fluffy I’d hurt for the sake of being a delinquent, all of my academic shortcomings, and each mark on my body with a concerning resemblance to a belt buckle. For two hours. By the end of it, she was sobbing and I was on the verge of joining her.
“Mitchell, I…” Juniper sniffled, wiping her eyes, “that explains so much about what happened.” I nodded solemnly.
“I was so overcome by the joy I felt when we spent time together,” I confessed, clasping her hand between my own. “I just didn’t want fluffies to take you away from me.” I buried my hands in my face, groaning. “I’m the worst.” Juniper scoffed, shaking her heads.
“You’re just misguided,” she comforted me, running her gentle fingers across my jawline and lifting my face to meet her gaze. “The guy I hired before Chandler was the worst.” I cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. There was no sign of joy in her face whatsoever as her eyes trailed to the floor. “I watched him rip a foal in half because it wouldn’t stop crying… and he thought that was the funniest thing ever. He laughed and laughed over what he’d done to that poor baby.”
Yeesh. I wondered how he’d been hired to begin with. Then again, Juniper had chosen to hire me. Maybe she wasn’t the best judge of character.
She sighed, considering a thought within her head. “Listen, Mitchell.” I braved myself for whatever she was going to say. “You’re not a bad guy,” she hummed, “I’m sure of that.” Okay, this was already going better than expected. “But I can’t let you keep working here. The fluffies are terrified of you.”
“I understand,” I sighed, standing up. “I’ll go home.” I stepped towards the door, barely grasping the doorknob before I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“I can’t send you back home to your parents,” she reasoned, standing from her chair, averting her eyes to the floor. “We both know what will happen.” I jerked my shoulder away from her.
“And we both know I deserve it,” I hissed, allowing my bitterness to resurface. At this point, I was just sick of being here. I felt disgusted with myself and was content with going home and smearing my brains over the wall before my dad returned.
Juniper didn’t give up so easily, though. She turned me around, grabbing my shoulders. The tone in her voice was one of concern and frustration.
“Listen to me, you stubborn idiot!”
If I wasn’t contemplating suicide at that moment, I would’ve popped a boner from that. I turned to face her, albeit hesitantly.
“Look… as long as you promise to keep your cool, you can crash at my place until your folks calm down.”
She wasn’t serious. There was no way she was gonna let a fluffy-beating sicko into her home.
“On one condition,” she appended with a stern glare.
Oh god dammit.
Juniper poked her head out the door and hastily shoved me backwards into a chair. She looked back at me with worried eyes.
With a sigh, she collected herself and took a step outside. “Mr. Moore, I am so sorry…” was all I could manage to hear before the door closed behind her. I subconsciously beat myself up because I hadn’t considered how hard this would be on her. She was currently out there probably pleading with Peppermint’s owner to forego legal action. Something in me welled up and suddenly my resentment towards her washed away. At least for the moment. I couldn’t let her take the blame for my actions. I hurriedly opened the door, jogging out of the office. Juniper and Mr. Moore both looked down the hall at me. Juniper’s expression conveyed an emotion that is simple to describe: “what the hell are you doing, get back in the office, are you insane?” The rugged man beside her, however, took a quick look at my bloody appearance and deduced my role in the vicious act. He pulled a cigarette from the pack in his suit pocket, lighting it up and slipping it into his mouth. He took one step towards me as I began to explain myself, shuffling awkwardly down the hall.
“Sir, I can explain. It wasn’t Juniper, it was me. So whatever happens, don’t blame her. Blame me. Whatever action you intend to take, take it against me.”
He stared at me coolly, taking a drag from his smoke. At this point I was about three feet from him.
“You beat up my little girl’s pet, didn’t you?” he asked straightly. I swallowed a lump in my throat, bracing for this absolute unit of a dude to slam me through the reception desk. I answered with a slow, cautious nod. He puffed smoke into the air, mulling over potential responses.
“Thank Christ.”
That wasn’t the one I was counting on. Juniper didn’t count on it either, considering her shrieking “WHAT?!”
He smiled at me. It was scarcely noticeable, but a smile nonetheless.
“Kid,” he began, offering me a smoke, “I hated that little nuisance more than you ever could.” I shakily reached for one, lighting up and taking a drag longer than any other I’d ever taken. He continued, “I bought the little bastard from a pedigree breeder three counties over.” I nodded slightly, coughing from my too-long drag. The nicotine turned my jerky jitters into less-pronounced rumbles. “What’s my daughter do three hours after I bring her home? Derp the damned thing.” I continued nodding along as I took rapid, shallow drags from the cigarette in my mouth.
Juniper’s jaw was practically on the floor, and mine would have been too if I didn’t feel like dropping the cig was a death sentence. I looked at her and it seemed as if she had seen a ghost.
Mr. Moore continued, “Huggies this, wub that, sketti this, pway that!” He let out an exasperated groan. “I bought it so my dumb-ass kid would leave me alone, not so I’d have another little idiot to take care of!” He turned away, sighing. Now that I wasn’t basically locked into eye contact, I took a minute to admire his bitchin’ suit in a desperate attempt to distract myself. Pinstripes were a good look for him. Maybe after all this was over I’d start wearing pinstripes.
“Look kid, you’re a sick bastard,” he told me without turning around. “But I ain’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ll just tell my kid she hugged it too tight and it caused health issues. Make a lesson out of it for when I inevitably cave and buy her another goddamn fluffy.”
I tried to stammer out a response, but to no avail. The cigarette fell from my mouth, causing me to try and grab it before it hit the ground. I stuck the lit end into my palm and spat a small “ouch” before watching it drop to the tile floor below.
He turned to Juniper, causing her posture to stiffen significantly. “I don’t care what you do with it, but I ain’t taking that ugly-looking thing home with me.”
He walked to the door, cracking it open and turning one last time to face me.
“Chill out, kid. If you didn’t, I would’ve.”
With that, he flicked the cigarette into the parking lot, got into his extremely nice car, and sped off. Juniper and I looked at each other dumbfounded. My mind raced to comprehend the situation I had just experienced.
“So,” I asked, “did that actually just happen?” She replied with a slow, confused nod. She rested her hand thoughtfully upon her chin, staring down at the floor.
“Jeez, you think you know a guy.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of her saying that about him but not myself. With everything having calmed down, I took a look around the room. There was an open first aid kit on the desk. Needle, thread, bandages, peroxide, a whole bunch of other shit… wait, did she say Peppermint was alive earlier? I saw a small pet carrier caked in blood sitting behind the desk. I weakly pointed at it, creaking my head sideways to face Juniper.
“What is that?” I asked slowly, knowing damn well what was in there. She narrowed her eyes, folding her arms.
“That’s the condition, Mitchell. Go make this right. Now.”
I groaned, walking behind the desk and standing in front of the carrier. I looked down at it in dread. Oh god, I had to face this thing I just tried to kill? Jesus, could it get any worse?
The answer was yes.
I stooped down to open the carrier. The door clicked open and I slowly peeked in. Peppermint was facing away from me, sobbing softly. I breathed heavily. Oh well, time to get this over with.
“Hey there little- OH MY GOD YOU LOOK LIKE CHEWED GUM!”
Peppermint was unrecognizable. She was covered in bandages, her horn was snapped off, one of her eyes was missing, and her jaw was all crooked and missing teeth. She looked like something out of a horror film. I felt sick. I covered my mouth in case I threw up.
Juniper, who was standing behind me, smacked me in the back of the head.
“MITCHELL!” she shouted. I turned to face her indignantly.
“WHAAAAT? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THING? CHRIST ALIVE!” I threw my arms into the air in frustration.
I inhaled sharply, putting on the happiest face I could manage.
“Heeeeey, Peppermint… I’m not gonna hurt you…” I cooed halfheartedly. I could feel Juniper glaring at me. The fluffy spat out a hateful response.
“Goo way! Pebboomin ug-uggie dummeh nu-teefies nu-thee-pwathe fwub-f-fw-fwubby!”
I balled my fist up, shooting back “Whose fault is that, you little jackass?”
SMACK.
“YEEEOOOW, what the FUCK?” I howled, gripping the back of my head.
“It’s YOUR fault!” Juniper hissed, gritting her teeth.
I couldn’t counter that, so I just turned back around.
“Mitchell, this little fluffy looked up to you and trusted you. She was beaten to near-death with a belt and her father didn’t care!”
I froze in place. Every sound around me drowned out and I could only hear Peppermint’s sobs. I watched her intently. I knew what Juniper was trying to do by saying that.
“Huu huu, dadda n-nuh wub Peb-b-boomin nu muh! Huu huu buu huu!”
I continued looking at her. She turned back around and I didn’t so much as recoil. I met her tearful gaze as she slowly trotted forward to the exit of the carrier. She looked up at me, sniffling.
“Pweeth gib fw-fwubby foweboo swee-sweebie…”
My heart broke for her in that mere instant.
“P-Pebboomin nu hab wub… o-ow huggeeth… pbbt… pbbbbbt… ow… ow mumma ow da-dadda nu mowe…”
She fell, making a dejected sputtering noise.
“Wai w-wa-wakieth if nu w-wub?”
I slowly reached out to take Peppermint in my arms. Tears were streaming from my eyes at this point, and I sobbed with her. My heart ached with her. My pain burned with hers.
“Wai n-nu huwteeth?” she asked me weakly.
“I… I don’t know anymore.” I held the sobbing little fluffy in my arms, cradling her as she looked up at me.
“Wai Middoo Mitchoo thaddieth?”
Her lisp didn’t bother me anymore.
“I’m… I’m…” I tried, but I couldn’t manage. I choked on the word every time. I could not apologize. At all.
But I didn’t need to.
Peppermint nestled into my embrace and wiggled her legs. I suppose she enjoyed the feeling of an embrace again. I didn’t mind it either.
It felt nice.
“Peppermint, I uh… can I ask you something?” I stammered.
Was I really about to make this leap? I didn’t feel like I had a choice. Not because Juniper was making me, but because something in me couldn’t leave her like this.
Peppermint cooed slightly in response.
My throat trembled as I asked “Can I… be your new daddy?”
Her eye lit up when I said this. She leapt up on her back legs, jumping up and down in my arms as I giggled at the sight of it.
“We-weawwy?” she asked, taking solace in her new lease on life. “Nyu dadda f-fow Pebboom-min? Gib hug-huggieth an w-wubbies an- an- an- an- an-”
I cut her off as I gave her a genuine smile.
“Yeah,” I said warmly. “Really.”
A small squeal came from behind me. I turned to see Juniper grinning from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling and her arms shaking in excitement. She looked down at us happier than I had ever seen her.
“I think we made a breakthrough!” she squeaked joyfully.
I smiled up at her, stroking Peppermint’s mane as she still buried herself into my chest.
“I guess so.”
It wasn’t long before we got the place cleaned up and headed across the road to Juniper’s apartment. I got weird looks from people as I carried Peppermint. I couldn’t really blame them. After all, the fluffy still looked like chewed gum. Oh, that reminded me.
“Hey Juniper,” I began. She cocked her head at me, humming. “You don’t think Lollipop is gonna… flip out, do you?”
Juniper scoffed. “Not a chance. I raised him better than that.”
I looked at her nervously. “I, uh… don’t know much about raising fluffies.” She looked back at me, thinking for a second. Eventually, she smiled.
“We’ll figure it out together.”
I felt a blush creep across my face.
Juniper giggled slightly. “Excuse the mess.”
I laughed hard at that. “Please, you should see my room.” I was grateful she couldn’t.
She creaked the door open to apartment 27 and holy shit it was not what I expected.
Band posters everywhere, Christmas lights hanging around the room (in the middle of summer, might I add), game consoles, a high-end stereo… this chick knew how to live. I heard the rapid pitterpatter of Lollipop’s hooves from down the hallway on the right.
“Mummah home, mummah home! Wowwipop su happies! Cheep cheep cheep!”
I giggled in amusement as he rounded the corner, skidding like an old cartoon.
His eyes lit up as he saw me. “And nice mistah Mitcheww hewe too!” he squealed happily. “Su happies, su happies!” He leapt onto Juniper’s ankle, cooing sweetly.
Peppermint peeked down from my arms to see Lollipop. She tentatively perked up her ears.
“N…nyoo f-fwen?” she asked hopefully. Lollipop’s ears shot up and his head snapped to attention, gazing in the direction of the voice. To my delight, as well as Juniper’s, Lollipop didn’t so much as flinch when he saw Peppermint. He smiled brightly up at the mangled fluffy.
“Yay! Mummah and Daddeh Mitcheww bwing Wowwipop bestest nyu fwen!”
I chuckled, smirking down at the babbeh. “I’m still not your…”
I felt a finger press against my lips. My eyes traced up the arm. It was Juniper’s finger.
Duh. Obviously. She was the only other person here.
She gave me a warm, pink-cheeked smile. “Just let him have it.”
I sighed, content to be the father of two little fluffies alongside this amazing woman who was no longer my boss.
Take that, quid pro quo laws.
I let Peppermint down and the two fluffies instantly began jibbering on, getting to know each other.
I thought back on the events that led up to this and wondered if I had made the right decision. That is, until I felt two little weights on top of my shoes. I looked down to see the fluffies hugging my ankles. Lollipop was on the right, closest to Juniper, while Peppermint was on the left. I glanced over at Juniper who rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” she sighed coyly, leaning in to hug me. “Peer pressure’s a heck of a thing.”
Yeah. This felt like the best outcome.
THE END!
<== Previous Chapter
Read the Comic by InfraredTurbine!