“Wet Wadybeww gu wite nao dummeh munstah wady o daddeh wi gib biggest hurties!”
Zeri stared at the Shit Rat Earthie named Ladybell. The Shit Rat was glaring at her with her mouth in full pout, as she struggled to break free of Zeri’s hand, forced to lay down on the cold, stainless steel kitchen counter as Zeri kept her head pinned down, and all Zeri could think was how badly this Shit Rat had fucked up. Seriously fucked up, like it was unbelievable how badly she had gone and done ruined her life so fucking badly.
When she first arrived at Entepott a while back, they did a little bit of research on her because she was so obviously a pageant pony. Warm beige fur with pastel pink heart patterns. A four toned mane and tail. She was definitely high value and it was highly likely that someone would want her back. They were right. Someone did. Some scion named Julian Aberdeen.
Unfortunately for both of them, when Ladybell had run away, she had somehow managed to rip off her in-built tracker. It seemed unintentional, but it meant that Mr. Aberdeen was now reliant on passing of word. He sent a missing Fluffy alert to the nation-wide government shelter system, one that Entepott was quick to respond to, problem was that Ladybell had been brought in by Pest Control, and as per government protocol, all ferals they collected were to be sterilized. Ladybell had already been spayed by the time she arrived at Entepott, so the response Entepott received was that she was ruined and worthless, and that she now belonged to Entepott.
That was roughly three weeks ago. When they were still technically a Hugbox shelter, but even as an abuse shelter, they did not plan to process Ladybell as Shit Rat feed. They were planning to keep her alive because they felt that Lime needed a mother, but she had just gone and done fucked up again by killing Lime. Killed the only thing saving her from Shit Rat feed and moved up the meat line.
Yet what worse was that she had just pissed off the two Hugboxers who ran this shelter. Two people who were growing increasingly frustrated with everything Shit Rat-related and growing more jaded about abusing Shit Rat day by day, with one so angry that she was ready to dip her toe in the abuse side of life.
Zeri kept Ladybell pinned down as she stared at Emilia. The young woman had her back turned and was sharpening a knife. She was absolutely silent, but Zeri could feel it, the cold seething anger radiating from a Hugboxer who just had enough.
“DUMMEH MUNSTAH WADY! NU HEAW WADYBEWW!? WET WADYBE…”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Screamed Emilia.
A resounding thud as Emilia slammed the knife on the metal counter. One that was able to silence the Shit Rat Mare for a bit. A short bit.
“Y MEANImhmmmmmhmmmmmm”
Zeri kept the bitch mare’s snout shut with a painful grip, whilst her other hand kept her still. She thought this would be more amusing. Watching a Hugboxer sink to the level of an abuser, but it only left her feeling sour. Bitter. Like watching a good kid breaking down after being beaten by reality. It felt wrong.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Zeri asked.
Emilia was silent at first, sharpening her knife with steely focus, but she eventually stopped and sighed.
“I have to do this”
“Why? It is because I have no experience skinning a Shit Rat? Like I said, you can…”
“No”
“Then why?”
“Because… Because I need to truly accept that Shit Rats exist… or I will never be properly to help Entepott”
Zeri didn’t get it, but Emilia’s eyes showed conviction. Her reasons made sense to her and she needed to do this, so Zeri said nothing more about the matter.
“How do you want to do this?” Zeri asked
“It would honestly be easier if we knocked her out, but… But I want her to feel this. It’s gonna require more effort on your part though”
“Okay”
“I’ll try my best to be careful, but… But you might get cut”
“That’s fine. At most it’s a only a small cut, right?”
“I think so… I’m sorry for putting you through this”
Zeri offered Emilia a friendly grin. Honestly she wouldn’t mind getting a small cut, if it came from a cute girl like Emilia.
“Let’s start?” Zeri asked
Emilia nodded as she approached with the knife.
Ladybell struggled and squirmed against the painful grip of the dummeh munstah wady’s grasps. One of her hands pressing so hard on Ladybell’s back that it was pushing the mare down on the cold, hard table, while her other hand kept a tight grip over Ladybell’s talkie place, stopping her from making any shouties. She would have flailed her weggies, but the dummeh munstah wady took all of them. So Ladybell could only watch. Watch as the meanie shouty wady approached with the scawy pointy thing, listening to the sharp tap of shoes as the meanie shouty wady got closer and closer.
Ladybell would have made scawdy poopies, but there was none inside her. The dummeh munstah wady had squeezed her tummy so hard that all her poopies went into the twashies, and whatever poopie were left was gone when the dummeh munstah wady gave her a horrible bathsie in the coldie wawa with the meanie soap that hurt her see places, so she could only give her most meanie see place look and try to pout her cheeks as wide as possible, but as the meanie shouty wady stood in front of her, with the coldest see places she had ever seen, fear gave way.
Pwease nu huwties!
Ladybell would have pleaded, but her talkie place was still held tight, so all she could make a make was a series of muffled noises.
“Ladybell, before I do this, I guess… I just want you to know why this is happening. That babbeh we left under your care. He was a good foal named Lime. He didn’t mean to make bad poopies on you, he can’t control it, and yet… And yet you killed him. No lecture. No second chance. You just straight up killed a babbeh and now… Well now I’m going to do horrible things to you. I am first gonna take away your fur before chopping you up and feeding you to the rest of the Shit Rats… Zeri, let go of her mouth. I wanna see what she has to say about this”.
“Are you sure, you know she’s gonna spout some bullshit response”.
“Just do it”.
Dummeh munstah wady let go of her talkie place, allowing Ladybell to make talkies again. The meanie shoutie wady had said a lot of things. Most of which she didn’t really hear, as she was busy trying to break free of dummeh munstah wady. However, she did hear about giving that babbeh foebah sweepies and the meanie scawy shoutie wady taking away her pretty fur.
“Nu tak pwetty fuw!” Ladybell screamed “Am gud Fwuffy! Gud Fwuffy am onwy fo huggies n wuv!”
“Good Fluffies don’t give babbehs forever sleepies”.
“Dat babbeh am bad babbeh! Mak bad poopies on Wadybeww n mak Wadybeww nu wook pweety!”
“That babbeh couldn’t help it, he cannot help it if he makes bad poopies!”
“Dun cawe! Bad babbeh mak bad poopies on Wadybeww n Wadybeww gib bad babbeh foebah sweepies! NAO WET WADYBEWW GU O GImmhmhmmmmhmmmm”
Dummeh munstah wady was holding her talkie place again.
“Told you it was just gonna be BS. Shit Rats don’t have empathy, they…”
Dummeh munstah wady had stopped talking because meanie shoutie wady had a very scary look. The kind that really gave Ladybell the worstest scawdies, and Ladybell tried to squirm free, but dummeh munstah wady still had a hand on her backsie and talkie place, so Ladybell could not move.
Nu huwt Wadybeww! Wadybeww am gud Fwuffy!
Again Ladybell tried to plead, but again her talkie place was held tight, so all she could was squirm her body helplessly.
A hot searing pain.
The agonizing stinging sensation of the knife slicing into her flesh.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
Ladybell wanted to scream, but the dummeh munstah wady held her talkie place.
Nu mowe huwties! Nu mowe huwties!
Ladybell wanted to run, but the dummeh munstah wady took away her weggies.
Pwease nu mowe huwties!
Ladybell wanted to hide, but the dummeh munstah wady held her in place
PWEASE!
So Ladybell could only watch.
Watch as the scary point thing cut more and more of her up.
Watch as the meanie scary shoutie munstah lady peeled away her fur.
Watch as only something ugly and red was left behind.
Then all Ladybell saw was black.
“Oh Emilia… Uh… The Shit Rat passed out” .
Emilia said nothing as she continued peeling the fur away from the flesh. Cutting the pieces of the membrane that continued to hold skin to the Shit Rat, with absolute concentration. She did not feel squeamish, because this was nothing new, this was just like skinning any other animal. Just like her dad taught her when she was a kid. Sure it had been a decade since she last skinned any animal, but the skills were always there, only just a little rusty, and before long Emilia had a Shit Rat pelt.
One of a lovely beige and pink. What they were going to do with this pelt was uncertain, but it had lovely colors and still felt reasonably soft to the touch, so there was bound to be some value in it. As for the original owner of the fur. Emilia stared at Ladybell, only to find the mare unconcious.
“Is… Is she dead?” Emilia asked in surprise.
Zeri had a small grin, then shook her head.
“Nah. She’s still breathing. I’m pretty sure she just passed out… Are you feeling better?”
Emilia shook her head.
“Not in the slightest. I… I feel empty”.
Zeri gave her an understanding nod.
“Yeah… I get it. Shit Rats don’t understand karma, so they just think you’re just being mean. Leaves you feeling… Frustrated? I guess”.
Emilia nodded in agreement, but she wasn’t quite sure how she was feeling. However, it was obvious that she gained no satisfaction from this, so she simply put the bloody pelt down on the kitchen counter.
“I… I need some fresh air”
“I understand” Zeri replied “Do you want me to finish off Ladybell?”
Emilia nodded with a grateful smile.
“Thanks Ze, I’ll leave Ladybell… In your care”
Emilia walked off, leaving Ladybell at the hands of the expert.
Zeri stared at the grotesque sight of a Shit Rat skinned from the head down.
She had seen a lot of gruesome things done to a Shit Rat, but this was definitely the first.
A pulsating bag of red, filled with bones and guts. Stumps of meats where the legs should have been. A startling contrast to her face, still filled with that pretty colored fur.
“Hey Ladybell wake up” Zeri said, as tapped the Shit Rat’s nose to wake it.
Ladybell stared at her with wide, tearful eyes. Bloodshot and red. Her lips quivering as she gave Zeri a pitiful look. A silent plead for mercy, before the words came flooding out.
“Huhuhuhu… Wadybeww hab… Hab worstest… hurties”
“Yeah you look like you have pretty bad hurties. Wanna see?”
Ladybell looked at her in confusion, as Zeri took a photo of Ladybell and showed the mare the photo.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
“MUNSTAH!” Ladybell screamed.
“I know right… That’s you”
“W… Wat!? Wadybeww… WADYBEWW NU MUNSTAH!!”
“Oh really? Then just look at your pretty fur”
The Shit Rat mare, turned her head to look and Zeri watched as her face of confusion turned to pure horror. The realization of what she had become.
“NU PWETTY FUR!?”
“Yup”
“WEWWE PWETTY FUR!? GIB PWETTY FUR BACKSIE!? WADYBEWW NU AM SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
The Shit Rat was a writhing bag of exposed, sensitive flesh. The Shit Rat mare would soon find out that she just being awake is pain.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The mare kept screaming.
Screaming until her voice became hoarse.
Screaming until she could barely make a sound.
Screaming until there was no will left.
Then screams turned to sorrow.
“Huhuhuhu… Nice wady pwease hewp Wadybeww”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Huhuhuhu… Pwease staph huwtie… N… N… Gib pwetty fur back”
Zeri grinned.
“Sure! I’ll give you your fur back, but you have to crawl up to me and touch my hand”.
A brief flicker of hope shown in the Shit Rat’s eyes, and Zeri placed her hand just a few inches away, watching as Ladybell desperately readying herself for the task.
An impossible task, as the mare would soon find out.
No legs to move forward. Her exposed sensitive flesh, making every movement an agonizing ordeal, yet Zeri felt unsatisfied. .
She thought this was amusing, but she couldn’t even smile.
Something about this left her bitter. Probably the fact that Ladybell really hurt a Hugboxer. A Hugboxer she truly cared about. One who had tried to make Ladybell understand her fault, and as she stared at the desperate mare, Zeri just had to wonder if she could make Ladybell understand just how badly she had truly fucked up.
“Hey Ladybell… Do you know what happens to a Fluffy when they die?”
“Huhuhuhu… Wen Fwuffy… Hab… Hab… Foebah sweepies?”
Zeri stared at Ladybell. The Shit Rat looked weaker. It was amazing that she was actually alive for this long in this state, but she was dying, and she was dying soon.
“Yup. When a Fluffy dies. Do you know what happens to them?”
Ladybell shook her head hesitantly “Wady… Beww… Dun kno”
“Well they get to go to Skettiland”
“Skettiwand?!”
“Yes! It’s a wonderful place filled with sketti, new toys, soft beds, and TV…”
The excitement in her eyes was unmistakable
“… Plus all the babbehs you could ever want to play with and all the mummahs and daddehs to give you huggies and love. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
Ladybell was nodding. Nodding as carefully as possible so as to not to aggravate her exposed flesh, but nodding none the less.
“Wady… Wadybeww… Git gu… Sketti…wand?”
“Yup, but only good Fluffies get to go to Skettiland”
“Wadybeww am… Am gud Fwuffy!”
“Are you sure? Didn’t you give a babbeh forever sleepies?”
“Bu… Bu dat am… Bad babbeh!”
“Sorry Ladybell, but a good Fluffy mummah, loves all babbehs”.
“Wadybeww… Wuv… Aww babbehs”
“But you giving a babbeh forever sleepies is not love”
“Dat… Dat… Am bad… Babbeh!”
“It’s still a babbeh”.
“Bu… Bu…”
“Pity. Guess you’re only going to end up in Mummah Hell”
“Mum… Mummah… Heww?”
“Yup. Mummah Hell. A horrible place full of burnie hurties, where you will look like this ugly Fluffy forever…”
“Wadybeww nu wan!”
“No hugs. No love. No sketti…”
“Nu wan!”
“No toys. No TV. No babbehs. No housie…”
“Nu wan gu Mummah Heww!”
“Only hurties and pain FOREVER”
“Pwease nice wady! Wadybeww… Nu… Nu… Wan gu tu… Tu Mummah Heww”
“Well I supposed if you didn’t give Lime forever sleepies you would get to go Skettiland”.
“Wadybeww… Nu gib… Babbeh foebah sweepies… Gib Wime huggies… N… N… Wuv!”
“But that’s the thing Ladybell, you gave Lime FOREVER sleepies. They don’t come back from that, so you’ll never be able to go to Skettiland… Only Mummah Hell”.
Zeri pretty much ignored whatever Ladybell said after that.
Illogical statements.
Desperate pleas.
Meaningless cries.
She sat down and just watched.
Watched as Ladybell squirmed and begged.
Watched as the hope faded from Ladybell’s eyes, as she slowly realized that only eternal pain awaited her.
Watched the last moments of her life fill with agony and despair.
And waited till she passed away.
Zeri sighed. She wondered if it was enough.
Well no matter, Ladybell was dead. Time to get back to work.
Emilia sat on the steps of Entepott’s backdoor, sat in the alleyway, staring at a wall.
“Mind if I join you?” Asked a familiar voice.
It was Ariella. She walked down and leaned against a wall.
“Just wanted a little smoke… Want one?”
Emilia nodded and took a cigarette. Ariella lighting it up, as Emilia inhaled the tar.
She cough violently as the thick tar clogged her throat.
“Ah shit… Too strong?” Ariella asked.
Emilia nodded “Too strong”
Neither said a word. Ariella continued smoking, while Emilia stared silently at a wall.
“Wanna talk about it?” Ariella asked.
“Talk about what?”
“Ladybell”
Emilia looked down on the ground, staring at the cement floor.
“I… I thought… I would take it more badly” Emilia admitted
“What?”
“I dunno. After what I did to Ladybell, I thought I would feel… Something, but I don’t feel anything. I don’t feel happy, but I don’t feel sad. I don’t feel angry or sick or disgusted or like a monster… I… I just feel normal”.
Ariella smirked and gave a knowing nod.
“Yeah, it happens… A lot… Lot of fucked up things in the world and… You just learn to get used to it… Well either that or you become an emotional wreck… I guess. That’s just what it means to be human”.
Emilia nodded in agreement and took another smoke of the cigarette. The thick tar once again clogging her throat, forcing her to cough violently.
“Ella, these can’t be good for you”
Ariella grinned.
“I know. I know, but… Now’s not a good time… Maybe later, when Entepott becomes more stable”.
Emilia sighed, but nodded in agreement. One step at a time. Entepott first, and then afterwards their own health.
The two women sighed, then head back inside.
Break time was over.
It was time to get back to work.
I’ll be honest. She was just supposed to be a reference. I needed a name for a Shit Rat mare and Ladybell was the first name that came to mind, but there were a couple of comments who really wanted to see her suffer, so I went ahead and got permission, and here we are.
I don’t think I need to say this, but Lady Bell and Julian Aberdeen belong to @UndercoverPallasCat and @FluffyChimera
