small mercy [somelurker]

really short because this is part of something that may be bigger :)) this is more to just gauge interest in these characters. happy new year <3

. . .

“huu huu… wai daddeh weabe babbeh?”

to anybody else, it’s obvious what happened: a lone fluffy foal left on the side of the road, hooves firmly planted in place while waiting for its “daddeh” to return. it hasn’t budged despite the rain now pouring, seeping into its fur and being splashed onto it by cars driving by. but it seems to finally break down, falling to the ground and covering its face with its hooves while it cries.

“am babbeh bad babbeh? babbeh sowwy daddeh, nu mean tu be bad babbeh…” a sob, then a sniffle, then a sneeze. “huu huu…”

thunder cracks from somewhere nearby. the foal shoots up, accidentally covering the ground with waste, then shrieks. “nuuu! pwease nu huwt babbeh!”

in a frenzy, it bolts in a random direction, slipping on the wet grass. it stumbles as fast as it can, away from the noise, tripping several times and busting its nose before it runs into something: another fluffy. she barely looks over at the contact, but when she does, her eyes widen and she gasps.

“oh! come hewe babbeh!” the green mare pulls the foal closer, hunching over it and licking its fur. “minty am hewe, babbeh, wiww keep ‘ou safe.”

the foal peeps, looking up at her with hope in its eyes. “m-minty? hewp babbeh?”

“yes, wiww bwing babbeh back tu hewd -” the pauses to grab the foal by the scruff. “wiww be safe dewe.”

with that, she sets off in one direction, head ducked to shield the foal from the rain. the foal itself hangs limp, occasionally sniffling or sneezing. minty picks up the pace, still careful to not fall before stopping at a large tree. “hewd am hewe,” she says through a bundle of fur, then points to a hole in the ground. it just gives her a confused look.

the mare slips through the opening, pushing through a slightly narrow tunnel that gives way into a large clearing. the foal looks around in awe at the branching tunnels. minty sets it on a bundle of leaves and fur, where a dark blue stallion lifts his head.

“‘ou found anotha fewaw?” he asks, stretching his neck out to reciprocate the nuzzle minty gives him.

“neaw da city,” she responds, “anotha by da woad. poow babbeh nu hab a mummah.”

the stallion looks over her at the foal, dripping wet and shivering. it returns the look, and it’s now that it realizes his back half is unusually limp, legs splayed to one side. “…swate tinks ‘ou shouwd teww sawbadow. wiww keep dem wawm.”

minty hums. “otay, speciaw fwen. wiww be back.” she rises back to her hooves and walks to one of the other tunnels, swiftly disappearing.

slate turns to look at the foal, then says, “babbeh come oba hewe, swate am tuu tiwed tu go oba dewe.”

it looks slightly confused, but rushes over anyway, pressing itself against him at his urging. “big fwuffy hab owwies?”

“babbeh could say dat,” he curls his front legs around it and begins licking it on the head. “nu can wawk wite anymowe. but dat was a wong time ago.”

it gives him a look of pity, but just snuggles further into his fur. after a few minutes, minty emerges again, this time with somebody else following behind. she trots over to the two, and the second settles in front of slate, paying no mind to the way minty shifts over slightly as if to give her room.

the foal, however, makes a small alarmed sound and buries its face into slate’s fur in an attempt to hide. “munstah! nu wike!”

“babbeh nu say dat,” minty immediately chastizes. “sawbadow am just wingy-pointy and has kept us fwom going foweba sweepies. she just wants to hewp.”

a peep. it slowly turns its head back over, properly taking in the alicorn’s silver coat and neon pink accents, hair falling down one side of her face. “don’t wowwy, minty, sawbadow nu am mad. dis am just a foaw.” she crouches down, “hewwo, babbeh. wat happened?”

“h-huh?” it turns back around and sits down. “…daddeh towd babbeh tu wait fow him. babbeh wait foweba but daddeh nu come back, an- an someting woud scawed babbeh. babbeh am bad babbeh, daddeh nebah come back.” it finishes off with a sob.

“aww, it’s otay, babbeh,” salvador reaches a hoof out to gently tap it on the head. “‘ou wiww be bettew hewe. hoomin daddehs and mummahs awways gib heawt huwties anyway.”

“w-weawwy?”

a nod. her gray, unfocused eyes don’t leave the foal. “weawwy. sawbadow hab seen many fwuffies wit huwties fwom hoomins, but hab awways wet dem in sawbadow’s hewd.”

it sniffles, then nods. “o-otay. tank ‘ou nice mun- fwuffy.”

“‘ou nu hab met ebewyone, but sawbadow tinks ‘ou need tu wawm up,” she stands back up. “minty, hao bad was da wain?”

“minty couwd bawewy see,” the mare responds, and salvador hums.

“den nu gu back out untiw brite-time. nu can hab ‘ou getting sickies. can ‘ou wook oba dem?” she asks, tilting her head in the foal’s direction. “sawbadow kno ‘ou miss ‘ouw babbehs.”

minty lets out something that’s halfway a laugh, then settles by slate’s side. “ob couwse! awways wub babbehs. nu hab miwkies wite nao, but can find nummies next brite-time.”

salvador takes a few more seconds to look over the scene before going back the way she came. the foal, thoroughly exhausted and unable to find anything wrong, lulls into blissful rest.

. . .

by the third day, it’s clear there’s a problem. despite minty’s best efforts, the foal’s sneezing doesn’t stop, its fever only raising as its responses become more and more unintelligible. it only cries about its “daddeh”, and had it been in a clear state of mind, it would notice the way salvador falters and freezes every time it does.

but it doesn’t notice. it doesn’t notice anything, barely even aware of its surroundings. at one point, while minty is noticeably despondent, salvador hovers over her shoulder to look.

“…dat foaw am cwose tu going foweba sweepies,” she points out, and minty nods with tears in her eyes. “sawbadow am sowwy. do 'ou wan hew tu take cawe ob it?”

“jus- just howd on,” minty sniffles, then lowers herself to nuzzle the foal. “minty am su sowwy, babbeh. nu mean tu wet 'ou gu foweba sweepies, but minty twied.”

some tears fall onto the foal’s head. salvador just watches minty sob silently, trying to give it the last comfort it will ever have. eventually, though, the pulls back and, with a shaky inhale, says, “…otay. minty am d-done.”

“minty am doing da wite ting. wemembah that.” with that, the alicorn reaches over to grab the foal gently by the scruff. the other mare’s eyes burn into her back as she crawls her way outside.

salvador walks far from the herd’s home, following the river to a spot where they rarely visit. she sets the foal down, and it peeps weakly.

“hhuu huu…” it still cries, “daddeh… babbeh wub 'ou, daddeh…”

“how couwd 'ou?”

its head barely perks up.

“'ouw daddeh weft 'ou tu die. how couwd 'ou stiww wub him?” salvador is staring down at it coldly. there’s no hint of emotion on her face.

“d-daddeh… wub babbeh,” it struggles to speak. “babbeh am just bad babbeh…”

a moment of silence. salvador raises a hoof. “den 'ou nebah wouwd habe undewstood.”

her hoof slams down on its head with a sickening crunch, blood and bone shards splattering on the grass. it can only let out a weak gurgle as its life is gone in an instant. salvador merely stares at it for a moment before walking over it to the river.

dipping her hooves, the blood merges with the water and spirals down and away in a sickly hue. she stares down at her own face: silver fur, neon pink mane, horn set in the middle of her head. downturned eyes, gray, almost cloudy and dilated. there’s still traces of blood in her fur.

she looks over at the corpse. “sawbadow am sowwy, babbeh. but dis am wats best fow 'ou. fow hoomins tu hab huwt 'ou su soon…” she sighs. “nu good comes fwom dem. if onwy 'ou couwd see.”

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This right here is an amazing piece of art.

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Sad but its a reality to end a sick foal that wont recover already abandoned to die.

I double check the title “Nature’s Mockery” cause the name is familiar to Gemini Home Entertainment mockumentary scifi horror on youtube :sweat_smile:

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it’s on purpose!! i really like gemini home entertainment and even though the reference itself means nothing with the actual story i just like how the phrase sounds. i think it fits fluffies very well :))

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Ohhh I see nice then again fluffies are dubbed by some as “nature’s mockery” as well.

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