The alley was dark and cold, just like every other alley in the city. Trash bins overflowed, and the smell of rot and decay hung in the air. The man slumped against the brick wall, his eyes glazed over, his breath shallow. He had once been someone important—someone with power, money, and a future. Now, he was just another broken soul lost in the depths of addiction.
“Guess this is it. Doesn’t get any better than this!” he muttered to himself, his voice barely a whisper. His vision blurred as the darkness closed in, trembling with chills as the withdrawal ramped up in his body. Then something caught his eye. A small movement, a soft sound, the awkward shuffling of a small creature.
He blinked, trying to focus, and saw a fluffy pony. It was small and brown, trying to lick the rotten ketchup off a food wrapper.
“Hewoo? Nyu fwen?,” the fluffy pony said, its voice high-pitched and sweet, like a child’s. The man had loved fluffy ponies before everything went to shit. He had always wanted one.
“Hey lil buddy. Yeah, I’ll be your friend. Can i have a hug?”
The little pony scurried up into the dissheveled man’s lap, gently squeezing the human’s bony ribs in a warm soft hug. “yay! nyu fwen! wub yu nyu fwen!”
The man chuckled, though it came out more like a cough. “Its been a long time since someone said that to me.”
The fluffy pony tilted its head to the side quizzically, “Wai fwen su saddies? wai bu bu joose?” the fluffy was looking at the crusty blood on the man’s face.
The man looked at the pony, really looked at it, and for a moment, he saw something in those innocent eyes—something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Compassion? Hope? He wasn’t sure.
“I let some teenagers beat me up for money. I really needed the money. I made a lot of bad choices,” he said finally, his voice trembling. "Lost everything… everyone. And now… now I’m just waiting to die. or be rescued. or for the world to end. I dont know. something’s gotta give. "
The fluffy’s ears drooped, rubbing its tiny head against his shoulder. “Nu be saddies, fwen! fwuffy am fo fwen and huggies and wub!”
The man felt something wet on his cheek and realized he was crying. It had been so long since he’d felt anything at all that the tears surprised him. He reached down with a shaky hand and stroked the pony’s soft fluff. It was warm and real under his touch, not just a figment of his broken mind.
“How’d you get here, little guy?” he asked, his voice softening.
“fwuffy nu nyo,” the fluffy replied, batting at his hand with a tiny hoof “buh hab fwen fo wub and huggies nao!”
The man smiled faintly, though his vision was growing darker as withdrawal began to tremor through his body. “Lucky you,” he whispered.
“whew nyu fwen befo? Hab nice wawm housies and nummies and wotsa fwen?”
“Yeah, I was a big shot a long time ago. everything. house. wife. kid. go skiing every spring in Vale. but this shit…” He brandished his already full syringe, glowing faint blue in the dim alleyway light, “this shit is going to kill me one day. So this is the last time. Then you and me, we’re gonna get clean and go home. Go find a hospital or something. One last trip and and Im done for good.”
The man tightened the belt around his arm, holding it in the rotten nubs of his teeth as experienced fingers guided the syringe full of sparkling pale blue fluid into his veins. His eyes dilated and were almost glowing with Glimmer.
His fingers trembled as he let the empty syringe drop to the ground. It rolled away, joining the other discarded needles, crushed beer cans, and crumpled cigarette packs that littered the alley. He exhaled, a weak, wheezing sound that could have been a sigh or a laugh.
The fluffy pony climbed into his lap, curling up and cooing softly. "Coo! Su happies wawm sweepytimes!”
The man’s heart ached at the pure, innocent joy in the fluffy’s voice. He wanted to stay awake, to keep talking to the little creature, but he was so tired. So very tired. The dim lights swirled and exploded into colors all around him. the bright streams of incandescent hues started to form abstract shapes.
“Can’t… remember,” he murmured, his eyelids growing heavier. "Too late… too much … for me. No wait! Its Abby! and Jessica! Oh my god i thought id never see them again! how did you find me? look how tall Abby is getting. Abby look i found a fluffy pony, just like we always wanted to get.”
“Dere nu one heaw, fwen. Onwy fwen and fwuffy…”
“No, look! its my daughter and her mom. look how pretty they are!”
The man felt the fluffy’s warmth against his chest, its soft voice resonating through his weak body, holding the little creature close as the colors became violent and garish bright, the kind of light that even closing his eyes couldn’t shield him from. For a brief moment, he felt peace—a peace he hadn’t known in years. But the darkness was closing in, wrapping around him like a blanket, pulling him down.
“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “For being here… with me. Do you know the mummah song?”
“aww babbehs nyo de mummah song! 
mummah wubs babbehs, babbehs wub mummah, dwink aww da miwkies, gwo big un stwon…
The fluffy’s squeaky little singsong voice, filling the man’s ears, drowning out the sounds of the city, the pain in his body, the regrets in his mind. And then, there was silence.
The alley was dark and cold, just like every other alley in the city. But in that darkness, a tiny fluffy pony sat beside a man brought so low by something as simple as glimmer.
“nanite fwen," the fluffy whispered softly, its voice echoing through the empty alley. “hab gub sweepies.”
And as the dawn broke over the city, the fluffy pony’s need for food overrode its desire for comfort and human love, its little hooves silent on the dirty pavement as he walked away, leaving the man to rest in peace.
gonna take you all down with me. 