Ragequit character/original art by Mutagen
Kiwi by Princess Purrpaws
Looking down at Ragequit, Mariana saw that she was still trying to escape her bonds, her hooves desperately trying to either pull off her collar or dislodge the ring from the hook. Noticing that Mariana was now watching her, the unicorn started to yell again, tears falling down her cheeks.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…P’wease wet fwuffy gu…fwuffy am gud fwuffy…nu wan be twapped…*huuu…huuu…huuu…”
Shaking her head slightly, Mariana looked Ragequit in the eyes, her voice calm but firm. “Can you remember why you are on that hook in the first place Ragequit? If you calm down and listen to me, then I will unhook you. Now, tell me what you did wrong?”
“Fwuffy nu du nuthin’ wong…meanie wady am da’ pwoblem. Nu wike meanie wady…”
Not raising her voice, Mariana narrowed her eyes slightly towards Ragequit. “You are a good fluffy Ragequit, but even a good fluffy can do bad things sometimes. I asked you to do something and you outright refused. And then when I asked you to wait for me, you called me mean and said you didn’t have to listen. That is very bad behavior, and I know you know better. Your daddy, Mr.Mutagen told me how smart you are, so I know you understand.”
“…Weawwy…daddeh teww wady dat Wagekwit am smawt…”
Using her name, that’s a good sign, thought Mariana. When it came to managing and caring for fluffies, she always compared them to caring for a child, as fluffies and children had many similarities, including how they lied or misbehaved. Most owners could tell when a fluffy was up to something when they refused to refer to themselves by name, in the same way a child might avoid answering a direct question. Mariana had found great success in calmly explaining poor behavior and mild punishments, but her real secret was communication. While many spoke to fluffies as they would a child, Mariana found that others simply spoke down to them far too often. And if this was done while confronting a fluffy with it’s wrongdoing, then the message and lesson could be lost entirely. So Mariana never spoke down to them, always explaining what they did wrong and how they could do better in the future. And she always made sure that she told them what they did wrong before and after any punishment she gave them, as it was crucial that they know why they were being punished. Mariana had heard some horror stories of fluffies going smarty due to repeated punishments without explanation, with the doomed fluffy thinking that they must somehow be in the right and their owner wrong.
For now, reaffirming something positive so that Ragequit could begin to accept the negative consequences of her action was Mariana’s main goal. “That’s right. Mr.Mutagen told me that you were very intelligent and that you loved games as well.” A smile started to grow on the unicorn’s face the moment Mariana had said the word “game”, her mood starting to improve.
“*gasp! Wagekwit wuv games! Wagekwit am su gud at dem! Wagekwit aw’ways win at games!”
"That’s what I heard to. But remember that it’s enjoying the game that matters, not who wins or loses. Now, a fluffy as smart as you Ragequit knows what is right and what is wrong. Tell me, what did you do wrong Ragequit?
“”…Wagekwit nu wisten tu wady wen daddeh teww Wagekwit tu…an’ Wagekwit yeww at wady…Wagekwit sowwy…"
“That’s right! Very good girl Ragequit. Now, I’m going to unhook you. After I do, I want you to walk up the step and wait at the top, ok?”
Nodding, the unicorn’s mood and opinion of her current guardian had clearly improved.
“…Otay…Wagekwit du wat wady teww Wagekwit tu du…”
Unlatching the collar from the hook, Mariana was rewarded with her faith in the unicorn, as she quietly trotted up the steps, her head low the entire trip. She’s clearly still upset, thought Mariana. But this was a good first step towards getting her to behave properly. “Very, very good Ragequit! Now hold still while I fetch a towel and I’ll dry you off.”
Mariana slowly ascended the steps, stopping midway so that she was level with Ragequit. Using her reacher, she grasped one of the towels that she left hanging over the backporch’s railing. Mariana often had two or three towels outside, in case she had to dry off a fluffy after a bath, as she did all the bathing in the yard. It worked well, with the method only needing slight alterations during poor weather. If it was raining, she’d simply have the fluffy climb onto her plastic deckchair and she’s hose them off there instead. If it was cold, then they’d get a bath in the kitchen sink, a little more difficult for Mariana, but not impossible.
Giving Ragequit a quick once over with the towel, Mariana dried her off, the unicorn giggling and cooing at the attention.
“*giggle Dat tik’ews! *giggle”
Once the unicorn was dried off, Mariana walked up the steps, replacing the towel on the railing to dry in the sun. Walking next to the door, she pointed to a rubber door mat that was topped with a deep green astroturf. “Now Ragequit, before you are allowed in, I want you to wipe your hooves on the doormat. There is a pet door installed, so you can come in and out as you want, as long as you behave and don’t make a mess. Remember, this is a privilege, not a right! Ok?”
Walking over to the matt and sniffling it cautiously, Ragequit took her front hoof and lightly dragged her hoof across it, wincing as she did. Looking to Mariana, a sullen expression on her face, the unicorn protested.
“Wagekwit nu wike scwatche, huwty ting’. Nu wan dwag hoofsies ow’n ting’!”
Crossing her arms, Mariana looked stern to the defiant fluffy. “It’s a rule and one you have to follow if you want to come inside. If you don’t do it willingly, then I’ll have to make you and your punishment when we get inside will be far worse. You were doing so well Ragequit. Don’t spoil it now by being stubborn,ok? Be good for me, like you would for your daddy.” Looking to the ground, a slight look of shame, Ragequit sighed.
“…Otay…”
As she walked along the matt and dragged her hooves free of mud and grass, Ragequit wincing and lightly sobbing as she did so. Once she was finished, Mariana smiled at her, using the reacher to pull the tab on the backdoor that unlocked the pet door. “Very good girl. I know it feels odd and unpleasant, but I can’t clean up muddy fluffy tracks everyday Ragequit. Now lets go inside so we can talk about the house rules.” As the unicorn slowly pushed the plastic flap with her head and went through, Mariana frowned slightly. And get your punishment over with, she thought grimly to herself.
Watching as Ragequit trotted excitedly through the hallway, Mariana could tell that a small part of her was intrigued at the thought of being somewhere new. As she looked around, occasionally sniffing the air, the unicorn turned back to Mariana, just as she had trotted in front of the closed saferoom door.
“Wagekwit smeww odah fwuffy! Am deww odah fwuffy in deww?”
Nodding, Mariana figured it was best to get the unpleasantness out of the way quickly. “That’s right Ragequit. That is the house saferoom. Right now Kiwi, a pegasus I’m watching for the week is in there sleeping. Now we need to go over the rules of the house.” Her excitement at the discovery of another fluffy slightly abated, Ragequit sat down and looked up to Mariana, clearly trying to focus on what she had to say.
“Otay! Wat am wuwes?”
“Well there are only a few of them so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to remember them. First and foremost, you must always do what I say Ragequit, no matter how much you may not want to. This is for your safety. You might not understand something I ask but always know that it is for your own good, I promise. Second is that I do not tolerate bulling or mean words in this house. To either me or other fluffies. And hurting another fluffy is against the rules as well, and will be punished harshly.” Mariana could see Ragequit squirm slightly at that rule, as she knew that the unicorn had a history of tantrums that ended in hurt and crying foals.
“Third, I’m not a monster Ragequit. I know that accidents happen. If you make a mistake or have an accident, break something, whatever, come and tell me right away. I assure you that the punishment you get for a mistake will be far worse if you try to hide it from me. Fourth, no running in the house except in the saferoom. Fifth, if you have to go to the bathroom, you get me and I’ll take you outside. Right now I’ve had to give you a plug to make sure you don’t have any accidents.” Suddenly remembering what had happened outside, the unicorn wiggled her rump slightly, clearly uncomfortable.
“And finally, never run from me. It isn’t easy for me to get around quickly, but I promise you that I’m faster than you think. If you try to run to get out of a punishment, then it’ll be all the worse when I catch you. Understand?” Nodding slightly, Ragequit stood up from her squatting position, her tail slightly wagging.
“Wagekwit undahstan’. Wagekwit fowwow wuwes. Wagekwit be gud fwuffy fow wady.”
Now for the hard part, thought Mariana. “I’m glad you understand them Ragequit, but don’t forget that you broke quite a few of them earlier outside. Remember?” Suddenly backing away slowly, the unicorn’s eyes widened at the realization of what Mariana was saying, her earlier words of a sorry-stick coming back to her.
“Fwuffy nu wan sowwy stick…fwuffy am gud fwuffy…”
“You misbehaved Ragequit. If you take your punishment right now, then that’ll be the end of it and we can move on to having fun and playing. Ok?” Mariana smiled to the unicorn, even though she could see where the situation was heading. While fluffies were inherently good, they didn’t like being in trouble and liked being punished even less. This could lead to all manner of bad behavior, from lying to avoid being reprimanded, to outright trying to run away to escape their owner, often leading to disaster for the poor creature. From hurting themselves in a panic or worse, getting out of their house and becoming homeless, discipline was vital in raising and caring for a fluffy. Mariana was no sadist, and she loathed using the sorry stick, but she had seen too many spoiled fluffies in her lifetime to give in to her guilt.
As if on cue, Ragequit turned quickly, trying to dash away towards the living room, only for her egress to be instantly halted by the reacher suddenly gripping the ring of her collar, the poor unicorn almost knocking herself over. Eyes wide, the terrified fluffy began to shriek as Mariana dragged her to the kitchen.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! NUUUUUUU!!! MEANIE WADY NU HUWT FWUFFY!!! WET GU!!! WET GU!!! *SCREEEEEEE!!!”
Not wanting to risk waking Kiwi, Mariana decided to give Ragequit her punishment in the kitchen. True the saferoom walls were well padded and nearly soundproofed, but she simply didn’t want to scare the poor fluffy. Normally she’d attach her collar to one of the several hook racks she had throughout the house, identical to the ones outside on the fence. Dull and made of well sanded hickory, they were safe for fluffies to play around, with only the occasional bruise from running through the house, which is why Mariana had made her fourth rule in the first place. But she didn’t want to overwhelm Ragequit anymore than she already had.
Walking past the living room, Mariana grabbed her sorry stick, a simple plastic fly-swatter that she had cut the netting end off of. Pulling the unicorn into the kitchen, she forced her to walk up the padded steps and held her in place firmly, with Ragequit no longer screaming, as she shook and whimpered, looking to Mariana with tear filled eyes.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…P’wease nu huwties fwuffy…am gud fwuffy… nu wan sowwy stick…*huuu…huuu…huuu…”
“Ragequit, it’s important that you understand that it’s not ok to break the rules or ignore people. I don’t like doing this anymore than you like it happening. Now, why are you being punished?”
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…Fwuffy nu kno…”
“You disobeyed me outside. I asked you to do something and you refused. Then you yelled at me and called me names. And after we went over the rules together, you tried to run away from me, even after I warned you not to. Now does all that sound like how a good fluffy behaves?” Still sniffling, the unicorn looked downward, clearly feeling slightly ashamed.
“…Nu…”
Nodding slightly, Mariana smiled. This was the most important part of a fluffies punishment, getting them to realize that they made a mistake in the first place. Simply whipping and screaming at them solved very little if they didn’t know why they were being punished in the first place. “So tell me, why are you being punished?”
“…Fwu…Wagekwit nu wisten tu wady…an’ twy an’ wun wen wady teww Wagekwit nu wun way’…”
“Very good, now it was going to be three lashes, but it’s going to be ten now, because you kept disobeying and being mean. Take a few moments, Ragequit and when you’re ready, we’ll get this over with.”
"“Wat wady mean taek mo’men?”
“I won’t give you your punishment until you’re ready. Take your time and let me know when you’re prepared, ok” This was something that Mariana had come up with herself over the years. When she was going to use the sorry stick, she always told the poor fluffy to take their time and let her know when they were ready. If it was their first time hearing it, they would simply wait there for a few minutes until they got bored, trying to leave and finding out that they had to stay there until it was over. It made the punishment stick in their head far more and many fluffies would later try and get it over with as quickly as possible, leading to better behavior in the future.
And Mariana was patient, as she waited for nearly six minutes, with Ragequit having to be reminded several times that she couldn’t leave until her punishment was over before the sullen unicorn had said that she was ready.
“…Otay wady…Wagekwit weady…”
Mariana never hit the fluffies hard, only a light swat on the side of their rump, and never anywhere else. If one side was too sore, she would switch to the other, always giving a punished fluffy plenty of time between lashes if need be. Doing the first three lashes slowly so that they’d linger slightly in Ragequit’s mind, before doing the rest quickly, with the unicorn crying and squealing as she did so, Mariana finished the punishment.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! TU MANI HUWTIES!!! NU WIKE!!!”
Once she had finished, Mariana gave Ragequit a few moments to recover as she put the sorry stick back up. Returning to the shivering unicorn, Mariana spoke softly to her. “Now Ragequit, what did you do wrong earlier? Why did you get the sorry stick?” Taking a few seconds to speak, her voice cracking as she whimpered, the unicorn looked up to her, streaks down her cheeks from crying.
“Wagekwit bweak wuwes…nu du wat wady teww Wagekwit tu du…an’ twy an’ wun way’ fwom wady…Wagekwit am sowwy wady…”
Petting her lightly, the unicorn now slightly cooing, Mariana smiled at her. “You may call me Mariana. And I forgive you for misbehaving Ragequit, but you have you have to listen to me and follow the rules. Ok?”
“Otay Mawe’anna. Wagekwit twy be gud…”
Scratching her up and down her mane, Mariana smiled as she felt Ragequit nuzzle against her. Hopefully all this praise would help her behavior for the coming days.
