Axel’s eyes slowly open, his vision still blurry from sleep as a low mumble escaped him. The unicorn’s body was still heavy with exhaustion but a feeling of thick confusion and unfamiliar smells kept him from drifting back into sleep. With a few lethargic blinks his surroundings would clear and reveal the glossy metal bars of the kennel he was confined within, a towel draped over the top to obscure the dimmed light of a tall lamp that towered over him.
The walls of the room outside were a soft, robin’s egg blue and the carpet a faded cream, contrasting against the pale pink bed sheets covered by a darker grey, flower print blanket that sat directly across from Axel, a night stand to it’s right, a matching wardrobe far off to the left, and a handful of garments had been dumped haphazardly on the end of it. A streak of light from curtained windows partially tucked behind the wardrobe cut across the dim room.
“Whewe…am Thiwty..” Axel mumbled in groggy awe at the room he’d found himself in, words clumsily fumbling out of his mouth as he slowly swiveled his head up and around. The muddled memories of the days before slowly coming back through the fog. Hints of blood and gore peeking past the wondrous experience of getting a new home.
“Whewe am Axew?” He slowly corrected himself, remembering the name he’d been given by Brute. His green eyes searched every inch of the room as his bleariness slowly fell away, excitement replacing it as everything sank in.
Axel shifted, tucking his back legs under himself and starting to push up. A squeak of surprise left the stallion as, instead of standing up, he suddenly shoved himself forward, snout ramming into the cold bars as his chest dragged along the towels tucked under his body. After blinking in surprise for a few long moments, his gaze would turn down, confusion soon filling the unicorn’s mind as his brain froze. It struggled to process the smooth, white strips of cotton firmly wrapped around his chest. Were…were his legs under there? Axel craned his head down, tilting it back and forth as he studied the bandages. A sense of wrongness wriggled its way through Axel’s mind as he shifted in place, trying his best to free himself from the stretchy confines.
“Wh-wha am wong wif weggies?” The yellow stallion muttered to himself in frustration, jerking a little harder to free himself and sending twin jolts of pain through his chest, up his shoulders, and racing down his back. A squeak of shock left his mouth as his long ears pinned to his head, bright green eyes going wide at the sudden sensation.
“Wha was dat??” Axel whimpered out in surprise as he began to squirm again, trying to shove himself up once more but only succeeded in ramming himself against the bars once again.
“Axew am up!” The loud, excited voice made the aforementioned stallion jump as the large head of an even larger dark red stallion covered in almost tabby-like stripes streaking down his body peeked into the metal kennel with a massive grin. Axel’s ears perked up as he recognized the scarred fluffy that was now practically vibrating with excitement. A bright green hair tie kept his black mane pulled back and he smelled faintly of apple pie and blood, just like the day they’d met.
“Bwute!” Axel cheerfully greeted the fluffy that had helped in decimating his herd only days before. It made him sad for a brief moment but the thought quickly banished itself as Brute skipped backwards, his glee at the presence of the new toy proving too much for him and he broke into a series of excited bucks and hops as baa-ing whinnies escaped him.
“Brute, don’t hurt yourself. Or break something.” Bonnie chimed in with a slight laugh, the human still tucked just out of view even as Axel pressed his face to the front of the cage in an attempt to catch a glimpse.
“Bwute won’!” The XXL cross puffed out his chest, bouncing from one hoof to another as his popcorning came to a finish. Every word showed off the chipped tooth Axel had previously noticed, “Can Axew come out now? He am aww wakies now.”
“Axew can come out?” The unicorn squeaked in excitement as he instinctively wiggled backwards away from the thin wire door as Bonnie knelt next to his kennel, following rules that had been ingrained in him as a foal. They were always to step away from the door or risk being swatted.
Bonnie’s shoulder length hair was pulled back in a pony tail, a few loose strips framing freckle spattered cheeks. The single flamingo pink eye still drew Axel’s attention. He was pretty sure he could see the faintest hint of pale scarring scratching from the corner of her eye to her temple. She still wore the familiar green shirt with fancy white lettering as before.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t be impatient, idiot.” Bonnie light heartedly scolded her fluffy, getting a playful little giggle in response as Brute intently watched her slide the latches open and swung the door outwards, leaving Axel exposed and within the massive XXL’s reach.
“Can-” Axel was cut off as Brute leapt forward and grabbed the unicorn by his scruff, roughly dragging the smaller stallion out and onto plush, clean smelling carpets.
“Oh! Brute, be careful!” Bonnie gave a small hiss of surprise as she started forward, putting one hand on Brute’s back and the other bracing Axel who let out a small yelp at his sudden and forceful eviction. Brute would give a muffled apology through Axel’s scruff as he wagged his tail, “He’s mostly healed but I don’t want blood anywhere that shit’s hard to get out of the carpets.”
“Uhm, can Axew weggies be fwee again?” Axel piped up before straining to look back up at the fluffy who held him.
“Eh?” Bonnie raised a thin, blonde brow at Axel’s request, looking down to the smooth spaces left behind by his now missing forelimbs. Her head slowly leaned to the side as she contemplated Brute’s newest enfie pal and his odd disposition, eventually giving the blunt response of, “You don’t have legs anymore.”
“Yus Axew do. Got dese weggies,” Axel proceeded to wiggle his back legs, “An’ odew weggies am ‘possed to be wight he-WE!” Another yelp would leave the little stallion as Brute suddenly released his scruff, Axel’s face momentarily twisting into pain as his tender chest collided with the floor.
“Yu am enfie paw naow, yu nu got fwont weggies. Onwy back weggies! Su yu nu can wun away when Bwute wan enf yu.” Brute quickly explained, flaunting his knowledge to the former stray.
“Why wouwd Axew wun ‘way?” The yellow unicorn asked in confusion. He thought back to the rowdy colt pen he’d been moved to once he was too old to stay with his mummah and sisters in her cramped little cage. Being one of the youngest among the bunch and more than willing to please his new friends had led to him becoming accustomed to repeatedly being mounted and humped by other hormonal foals just barely coming into stallionhood. If it made them happy, it was worth the occasional discomfort.
Brute blinked at that, his brain buffering at the completely new question. Most strays would be screaming and struggling at this point. Either begging to be let go, given their legs back, or not to be enfed, “Weww…cause dat am what aww dah odew ones do.”
“Oh weww, uhm…,” Axel mumbled, trying to think of how to respond, “Buh wha’ if Axew nu wanna do dat? Nu wan wun ‘way fwom new housie.” He tried to reason.
“Brute, he’s a little..he’s missing a few things up there. He’s not like your other enfie pals.” Bonnie quickly interjected as she exasperatedly pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to stop what was almost certainly going to turn into a painfully circular conversation. At least she wouldn’t need to listen to this one scream.
“And you don’t have any front legs anymore, don’t ask again. You’re not getting them back.” She’d tersely address Axel who lowered his head and pinned his ears back at the sharp reply.
“Oh. Otay!” Brute readily accepted his owner’s answer as the tall woman shuffled away on her knees to start taking apart the temporary holding cage, leaving the pair to their own devices.
“Otay.” Axel mumbled alongside the earthie.
Brute wasted no time in scooping Axel back up and dragging him out of the room, his body soon sliding across the polished wooden floors of a brightly lit hallway. Axel’s predicament once again was overtaken by the awe of such clean, neat spaces and the overwhelming onslaught of new smells, sights, and sounds.
Frozen moments of time hung on the wall, one showed off a much younger version of his new human sitting next to a middle aged woman with matching hair that fell down her back and heavy freckles, her own blue eyes turned away from the smiling girl next to her and the same older man with greying hair and a stern stare whose hands possessively rested on both of their shoulders. If it weren’t for the striking pink color of her right eye, he’d have assumed the child was Bonnie’s brother with her short hair and boyish clothing.
The one next to that showed the blonde girl leaning side to side with the older man in front of a massive, shimmering body of water bigger than anything Axel had ever seen before. Both showing off an odd, glistening creature with giant, bulging eyes, and spiny protrusions jutting from its back and sides that was held between them. Axel had never seen something like that. Photo after photo passed, slowly progressing through time as the girl grew, gatherings with other children surrounded by brightly colored wrappings and items still stuffed in cardboard and plastic, places like the park Axel had until recently taken up home in, and his new mummah dressed in black robes and wearing a funny square hat, a parent on each side of her. The photos ended rather abruptly but the curiosity and confusion at what he’d seen continued as they reached the threshold of an even bigger room that extended up and past the ceiling of the hallway.
The sound of people arguing quickly pulled Axel’s attention back to the present. Back and forth the voices would yell at each other, scolding and berating each other but as his eyes scanned the room from his position beneath Brute’s massive form he couldn’t see anyone. The room, however, wasn’t empty, he could smell others. Other fluffies to be exact. One stood out to him, his nose twitching as he caught a whiff of the same sickly sweet smell of oranges, sandalwood, and rot lingered in the room, the source of it eventually peeking over the back of a lengthy couch with a single, narrowed green eye; the other socket still as empty as Axel remembered.
Any words that came to Axel’s mind to describe his new home couldn’t quite fit themselves into a solid concept just yet, everything was far too new to him. Far too bizarre. The place he’d found himself in was the complete opposite of where he’d originally come from. The air was easy to breathe, not heavy and stinging with the heat of densely packed bodies and ammonia. Everything was so spacious too, no more cages and floors so caked in feces and urine that it had slowly, layer by layer, obscured the rough concrete beneath their hooves. Sunlight pouring through massive, white trimmed windows replaced flickering bulbs and hints of freedom from open door ways.
“Tch, it nu am faiw yu get tu bwing yu enfie toy out hewe.” Bruno growled at the other stallion as he approached, rounding the circular side table that sat at the end of the dazzling new item. Axel stared at the huge thing as he was dragged onto a brightly colored area rug. The source of the voices finally came into view, a giant screen resting on a long wooden case, it’s shelves filled with thin, plastic cases of many different sizes and colors. A sudden flash of violence startled the unicorn as the scene devolved into a melodramatic scuffle, a woman desperately wailing for the pair to stop.
“Dat am cause Bwute fowwow dah wuwes.” Brute replied with a happy flick of his tail as he deposited his new toy on the ground, getting a huff and a glare in response, “Mummah Bonnie say dat am onwy ‘wwowed to enf in own woom.”
“Das buwwshit.” Bruno shot back as he peered over the edge at Axel who was still completely lost in his own thoughts, scanning all the new and wondrous furniture scattered about, “Bonnie hab sex on dah couch aww dah time. She fink Bwuno nu can heaw buh Bwuno can!” He’d suddenly raise his voice, directing his anger down the hall at their unseen owner. Axel jumped at the loud shout with a startled little squeak, looking up to the XXL whose cheeks were puffed in indignant anger.
“If you didn’t pay for the couch, you don’t get to cum on it.” A new voice joined the fray, this one male with a faintly scratchy quality to it. Axel craned his head upwards, trying to peer past the furniture as Brute hauled himself up and on to it. The earthie’s back hooves scrambled against the couch, one narrowly missing Axel’s ear.
“Yu didn’ pay fow dah couch eidew, Wawwen!” Bruno shot back, hooking his front legs over the back of the couch as his docked tail flicked in irritation.
“I pay in other ways.” The newcomer smugly answered, Bruno’s head turning to follow him as he trotted into view. He was short, much more so than Bonnie, older too, with long, wild black hair that fell down his back, and glittering bits of metal pierced into his face. Sharp teeth that reminded Axel of the scary bedtime monsters he’d heard of through his foalhood filled Warren’s mouth and his pupils shone white against dark blue irises. The shirt he wore quite clearly didn’t belong to him, both much too large and bright pink.
“Yu nu even wive hewe.” Bruno shot back in response as Warren came to a stop, lifting the can he held in one hand to his mouth and forcing the stallion to wait for his response.
“Yeah, well Bonnie owns the house and she says I can. So take that.” Warren followed his childish answer with a smirk that only grew more at the clear frustration in the XXL’s expression.
“Bonnie am cwazy so nu am supwised.” Bruno huffed back, turning his snout up at Warren.
“A crazy woman with a couch. Still more than you’ve got.” Warren took another sip from his drink, laying an arm across his chest so he could balance the other on it.
The pair would banter back and forth, Bruno’s annoyance steadily rising as he tried to figure out some way to outwit his owner’s boyfriend. Axel’s attention drifted as Bruno paused, searching for something to say in response, when a small flash of pink in the corner of his eye would pull his attention away. As he turned, Axel would find himself laying diagonally from a scruffy pink mare, her half lidded eyes blinking sleepily at him as though just roused from a nap. She was older, her muzzle and mane streaked with white that showed her age.
He’d lean in, peering into the darkened space beneath, until he was nearly snout to snout with the other fluffy splayed out under the furniture. Her dark red eyes matched the purplish red mane that was brushed back across her neck and, just like the others, scars dotted her pelt. The horn protruding from her forehead had been ground into a sharp point, revealing pale keratin beneath pale pink velvet.
“Hewwow.” Axel greeted her with a smile. The long pause and the lack of reaction in her dull expression made him wonder for a moment whether she’d heard him or not.
“Who am yu?” The unicorn’s flat voice eventually answered back.
“Am Axew! Who am yu? Yu wan be fwens?” Axel chirped back, his tail wagging happily behind him.
“Am Vawentine.” Was the only answer, Valentine ignoring his second question. Her eyes slowly rolled to the side at the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Hewwow Vaw-een-tine!” Axel cheerfully responded, sounding out the new name. It sounded vaguely familiar, something he’d heard before but couldn’t quite remember. Axel would lay his head down on the carpet, mimicking how Valentine was splayed out across the floor, before repeating his unanswered question, “Yu wan be fwens?”
Valentine would stare at Axel for a few moments, slowly blinking, before responding with, “Suwe.”
Axel let out a delighted little gasp, about to cheerfully respond again before Warren’s foot suddenly smacked into his rear, causing the human to stumble forward a few steps as he fought to keep the can of soda clutched in his hand from spilling across the carpet, “Ah shit, sorry, didn’t see you down there, little guy.” He’d laugh, peering down at the unicorn.
“Dat am otay. Axew nu am huwt.” Axel would quickly reassure the man despite the sting of pain in his haunches.
“Well that’s good. You sure are a chipper little thing, huh?” Warren nodded, his attention redirecting to Brute who precariously leaned down from his spot on the cushions to grab Axel by the scruff and drag him up, “That’s your new toy? What’s his name?”
“Yush!” Brute answered back through a mouthful of mane and over Axel’s requests for him to be more gentle. Once his new enfie pal had been safely set down, he’d turn to look up at Warren, “Him name am Axew!”
“Aww, how cute.” Warren smiled as he plopped down onto the couch, resting one leg on the long, low coffee table before crossing the other over it, “You gonna share?”
“Pfft, nuuu! He am fow Bwute!” The dark red earthie burst into giggles as he wrapped his forelegs around Axel whose eyes bounced from one to the other as they talked, still taking everything in.
“Tsk, tsk, so greedy. I guess I’ll have to settle with Bonnie then.” Warren dejectedly sighed only to let out a little ‘oof’ of surprise soon after as the aforementioned woman smacked him in the back of the head on her way past, the folded up kennel tucked beneath her other arm.
“I love you too, Bunny!” Warren called after Bonnie with a snicker as she dipped through the French doors of the arching kitchen entrance, flipping him off behind her back. The sound of the garage door opening and closing followed soon after.
“Daddeh Wawwen, can Bwute hab bestest scwitchies?” The maroon stallion suddenly leaned towards Warren, pulling Axel with him.
“Can Axew hab scwitchies too??” Axel looked up at this new human with an expectant expression and a wagging tail at the thought of pets. He’d never gotten much in the way of affection from humans, he was actually often snapped at or swatted but such a pleasure was still worth asking for.
Warren chuckled at the enthusiastic requests, pulling his feet off the table and leaning to set his drink down, “I suppose I can.” He hummed, turning to sit sideways on the couch as he reached forward towards the two.
“Yay!” Axel squeaked excitedly as he gave a happy little wiggle. A twinge of pain would remind him of his lost limbs but that quickly dissipated at the feeling of pointed nails scratching through his fur, starting at his cheek before drifting up to his ear. Warren’s hand soon moved down and under his chin, a soft coo escaping at the sensation. The little unicorn would lean further in, finding that these truly were the best scratches he’d ever had by far. A happy little giggle came from above Axel as Warren reached under Brute’s chin as well, the other fluffy resting his heavy head on the human’s hand.
“Aaawww..” Quiet whines came from the pair as Warren eventually pulled back, giving the pouting stallions an entertained grin as he did.
“I can’t pet you two forever.” Warren snorted and ruffled their manes. As he did so Axel would notice an oddness about the man’s hands, soon realizing they ended in what looked more like claws than what he knew as normal. They reminded the naive little fluffy of the dog that occasionally came sniffing through the garage he’d once lived in.
“Why am dose wook wike dat?” Axel blurted out, looking from the strange, new variety of human appendages that he’d discovered.
“Huh? Oh, these?” Warren spread his fingers to show off the dark claws, “Cause I like them like that. Cost a lot though..I think.” He’d pause to recall the price of the modifications to himself but quickly interrupted himself with a dismissive shrug.
“Yuh! Wawwen gib bestest scwitchies wif dem.” Brute added on with a firm nod, completely confident in his assessment.
“Mmhm, or at least that’s what everyone tells me.” A light chuckle escaped Warren as he rested one arm over the back of the couch, using his hand to prop his head up.
“Am dat why yu teefies am wike dat?” Axel would instinctively try to raise a front hoof to point only to once again realize he no longer had them. That made him a little sad.
“Him eaws am weird too. An’ him eyes, an’ got aww dose metaw fingies, an’ he am showt too!” Brute added on, excited to help point out all the little oddities about Warren who didn’t particularly seem to mind.
“Yuh-huh. I used to look just like everyone else but that’s so boring so I changed them.” Warren answered, his forked tongue flicking across pointed teeth at the mention of them, “Except the height thing.”
“How yu do dat? Wif magic??” Axel’s eyes practically sparkled more with every new question he got to ask.
Warren let out a laugh at that question, his eyes squinting a bit in amusement as he reached out to lightly stroke one of Axel’s long ears, “I’m sure it’d seem like that to a little thing like you. But, no, I went to a special doctor to make them different.”
“Oooh.” Axel nodded, not fully comprehending what that entailed but it made enough sense for him.
“Since you two got your pets,” Another hint of troublesome mischief sparked in Warren’s eyes as his attention turned to Bruno who had settled down to continue watching the TV, a grumpy look still on his face at having had his verbal battle interrupted, “Would someone else like some scritches?”
“Eh? Nu.” Bruno declined with a huff and a flick of his ear.
“Aah, don’t act like you don’t want some of this.” Warren retorted as he raised his hands, making playful little grabbing motions towards the neon stallion who immediately narrowed his eye at the man. Axel couldn’t help but smile, watching Warren draw his legs up and begin to tease Bruno as he crept forward.
“Su siwwy.” Brute murmured, shuffling his body against the couch cushions to get comfortable as he cuddled Axel to his chest.
“Hey. No.” Bruno defensively scolded Warren like a rambunctious cat getting ready to pounce, starting to get to his hooves on the unsteady cushions. His ears pinned back as the human’s advance never faltered, “Stop dat!”
A ruckus suddenly erupted as Warren sprung forward with an almost menacing cackle, catching the large pegasus as he tried to leap off of the furniture, dragging him backwards and into his lap, “You can’t escape!”
The couch under Brute and Axel shifted and creaked with the ensuing struggle, Bruno continuing to try and fling himself away as Warren wrapped himself around the fluffy to firmly plant him into place. Axel giggled at the sight, “Dey am siwwy.”
“Bewy siwwy.” Brute nodded back, glancing down at Axel as he spoke. He’d duck his head down, lowering his voice to a whisper that wasn’t really a whisper, “Daddeh am sooo gwumpy sometimes but he weawwy not dat bad. Dat’s just how he am.”
“Otay.” Axel nodded along, quickly accepting this information as his attention turned back to the pair. With a pause he’d stop to think, did Brute mean Warren or Bruno? He’d heard the stallion call Warren Daddeh earlier but he certainly wasn’t moody at all, he quickly decided that it was probably about Bruno. He was, without a doubt, grumpy.
“Ged off Bwuno!! Bwuno nu consent to dis! Am gon’ pee in yu shoes!” The scarred stallion loudly threatened and flailed as Warren began to scratch at his short fur. Eventually Bruno would tire, forced to give in to the affection with irritated grumbles as Warren had him fully and truly trapped. While his expression of disdain and contempt remained, Axel noticed Bruno’s docked tail occasionally flicking every now and then as though suppressing a wag.
“Warren, can you stop harassing Bruno? I don’t want him spite-pissing anywhere.” Bonnie called out, blocked from Axel’s view by the back of the couch but he could still hear the heavy footsteps as she approached, “Also, what do you think we should have for dinner?”
“Aah, it’s fine.” Warren laughed as he waved Bonnie off, “You know I’ll eat anything.”
“I know.” Bonnie’s tall figure eventually looming over the back of the couch as she looked down at Warren. Her eyes flicked away from his for a few moments, taking note of Brute and Axel cuddled up, “Some of the things I’ve seen you put in your mouth makes me second guess kissing you every time I do.”
“Hewwow, Mummah Bonnie!” Brute chirped, happily greeting his owner.
“Mmm, but you still dooo~” Warren cheekily cooed, expectantly leaning up towards her, “What about take out? That one Indian place is really good.”
“I don’t know why I put up with you.” Bonnie gave a slight smile as she leaned down, giving her partner a quick kiss and patting Brute’s head before drawing back again, “That doesn’t sound too bad. Which one?”
Warren paused, looking away as he tried to think. Bruno’s eye opened ever so slightly as the scratches stopped and his ears swiveled back, the neon fluffy only continuing to lay sprawled out on the cushions as he listened, “Uh, you know, the one with the fish tank.”
Bonnie took her own pause, eyes narrowing as she tried to figure out which one he meant, “The one near Chestnut and Waverly?” She tentatively asked, raising an eyebrow at Warren.
“Maybe.” Warren shrugged, his unsure answer sparking a flicker of irritation in Bonnie’s expression.
“You’re going senile.” She huffed, harshly flicking a lock of Warren’s dark hair before she turned and headed back to the kitchen again, “You’re paying for it.”
“Uh huh.” Warren snickered, quickly going back to tormenting Bruno with petting, unperturbed by Bonnie’s annoyance.
“Bye bye Mummah Bonnie!” Brute called, Axel pitching in on the farewell. The little yellow unicorn felt quite content with his situation so far. Everything was so new and bright, even with the tinges of dark around the edges of this pretty little picture, it only seemed to highlight how nice it was to the little fluffy. Axel’s mind was racing with excitement and delight, a new home, a new family, and, even if he was an ‘enfie pal’, as they had labeled him, it wasn’t anything worse than what he’d come from.
Brute’s warmth pressing in around Axel and the overwhelming sights and smells of his brief introduction to the household had tired him out once again, a small yawn escaping him as he laid his head down on the cushions; giddiness once again rising in him at the sensation. This was far better than anything he could have imagined.
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