< previous | index | next >
Rainbow Game, Room 3
Removal
Remove. Again and again, Viola thought about the word. What did it mean? What did removing mean?
Maybe it was taking them outside and putting them in a cage, or maybe it meant they had to stay here in the voting room. Maybe they’d get to return after a few challenges, or the other fluffies would have to save them. Every answer she could think of was along that line of thought; something harmless, like a sorry box that the others could free the victim from.
And if that was what removing meant, who should be removed? Either Indigo or Toy Boat, right? They were both so helpless compared to the rest. But Indigo could at least move on her own, poor Toy Boat had to be carried. And how could they trust Blue, when Toy Boat could have died twice already from his friend’s recklessness? Blue might get Toy Boat hurt or even killed, if nothing was done!
With this line of thought, for the sea-fluffy’s own safety, Viola pressed her hoof against Toy Boat’s picture on the screen so that it lit up.
“All votes have now been cast,” Daddy’s voice rang out after a brief wait. “Orange has been voted out.”
Orange, that was Toy Boat! Viola lit up with delight – he’d be safe now! Everyone else’s reactions varied; most seemed uncertain or uneasy, while Blue was happy its friend won and Indigo was disappointed with her own loss. Bunny was the first hint of something being wrong; he was trembling, utter misery on his face, whispering a quiet apology.
The jingle of metal brought Viola’s attention to the ceiling, where a three-pronged grabby thing she had once seen in a claw machine dropped into sight. Whirring accompanied it as the claw moved along the carved-out pattern in the ceiling, positioning itself over Toy Boat’s square and then dropping down, clasping around the uncertain-looking sea-fluffy. As it began to rise again Bunny folded his ears into themselves, hooves pressed into them to block out the events that were about to unfold. “Am sowwy, am su sowwy, sowwy…”
Why was he sorry? Had they done something wrong? Viola’s delight faded as she watched the claw pull Toy Boat into the air, moving back to the center of the room so that the sea fluffy hung directly in the spotlight. But then, instead of leaving, the claw stopped.
“Hewwo …?” Toy Boat asked cautiously, looking around, before gasping as the claw closed tighter. Even though it had already gripped him as hard as it could without causing harm, it was squeezing tighter and tighter, its sharp edges digging through his skin and into the flesh as he struggled and screamed. Viola sat horrified, watching blood run down the claws and onto the cold floor in thin streams.
No. No, no, no. What was happening? Why was this happening? Was it going to slice poor Toy Boat up just like that?! Was that removing?!
“HEWP! HUWTS! IT HUWTIES!!” Toy Boat cried and shrieked, until after an eternity the claw suddenly opened, leaving the fluffy in free-fall. “EEEEEEEE!!”
He struck the ground hard, spraying blood in all directions and abruptly falling silent.
“TOY BOAT!” screamed Lolo, while Snaggle tried to climb out of her square to aid the sea fluffy as he weakly writhed. Bunny’s sobbing apologies grew louder, and Ghost had followed his lead to hide behind his own hooves. Indigo and Blue, just like Viola herself, could do nothing but stare at the horrific display.
Just when Toy Boat was starting to regain his breath, sobbing and wheezing, the still-open claw descended on him again and snapped shut around his body. Only now could Viola see how it had cut through his body so easily; sharp blades had extended from the prongs, one blade catching on the sea fluffy’s left front fin and tearing right through it. As Toy Boat’s screams renewed Duffle slammed against his fence and managed to snap it in half, but the fluffalo was too late; he reached the spotlight just as the claw dragged Toy Boat back up to the ceiling, out of reach, and stamped impatiently as he tried in vain to catch hold of something. A tail, a fin, anything but the drops of blood that fell from above.
“Hewp!!” cried Toy Boat panickedly, trying in vain to free himself - the prongs were much too tight around him, and with one impaling his fin there was nothing he could do. All he could do was cry and scream. “Pwease!! Pwease hewp Toy Boat!! NU MOWE!!”
Viola was bracing for the second drop, even though she knew Duffle was ready to catch Toy Boat, but it never came. Instead Toy Boat’s screeching suddenly became louder, despite the claw not closing in on him further, and her heart stopped beating as she finally realized what was happening. The claw was retreating back into the ceiling… Through a hole that was not big enough for Toy Boat to come along. He was pinned against the ceiling and held there as the claw slowly, slowly rose, its unyielding grip tight around his body. And as a result, as its prongs refused to open, the sharp blades were cutting straight through him.
“PWEASE!!” Toy Boat screamed, choking on his own blood as the blades tore through flesh and into organs. “HEWP TOY BOAT!!! PWEASE!!!”
“STOP!!” Lolo was shouting in a panic, trying anything she could to escape her pen. Snaggle wasn’t faring much better, crying and shouting for Daddy to stop this, to have mercy. “DAT’S ENOUGH!! PWEASE JUS’ STOP!!”
There was no response, least of all from the cruel claws. Even if they had let go, it wouldn’t have saved Toy Boat. Not in this state. But even so, even though he was too badly injured to survive, the claws continued to retract.
“Pwease …” The sea fluffy’s cries had turned into wheezing and gagging, trying in vain to stay awake as his stomach split open, half-severed organs spilling out and the dripping blood growing into a waterfall. “Hewp… widdwe daddeh… Pwease come back, pwease… save Toy Bo… … wi… da… …”
As Toy Boat fell silent once more, the claws reached his spine and finally stopped rising. The orange fluffy was left to hang limply, shredded guts hanging below him like some kind of morbid party streamer, in the center of the room for all to see.
“Orange has been removed from the game,” Daddy’s voice rang out carelessly, as though the gruesome display had never happened. The podium in front of Viola opened up, her violet ball rolling out, and then the fences sunk back into the floor. Somewhere she wasn’t looking, a door opened.
It felt so stupid now. This was what she’d voted for? To get a ball, a piece of wood, and for one door to open. That was the sole reason Toy Boat had …?
It felt so wrong, and none of her thoughts quite wanted to stick. She had voted for Toy Boat and now …
The others were just barely starting to recover. Duffle sorrowfully returned to his podium to collect his ball, Ghost and Bunny only just uncurling. Snaggle looked utterly lost, approaching the spotlight but stopping short of the still-dripping blood.
“Toy … boat …?” Even little Indigo, who they had been so careful to keep from Silver’s body, was forgotten in the despair that filled each fluffy, tenderly taking a few steps toward the hanging corpse before her. Blue had yet to move at all.
Only Lolo had a different emotion; an indignant, disgusted rage. It was her words that snapped everyone out of their dazed state: “Yu knew.”
Bunny, who had moved to leave, shrank away as Lolo blocked his path, her old eyes glaring a hole through his fur. He stammered and then mumbled something in reply, eyes shifting from side to side as he failed to find an explanation, only to then whimper. “Am sowwy…”
Lolo took a step closer, stomping her hoof. “Yu knew an’ yu wet fwuffies vote! Yu nu even wawn …!”
“Am dat twue?” asked Snaggle, approaching the two with trembling steps. “Did Bunny know what wud happen…?”
How could he? Viola didn’t quite understand, but… Now that it was brought up, how had Bunny known about the balls? That you needed them to leave, that you needed your color, even to put them into the holes… The more she thought about it, the more she realized none of that had ever been explained by Daddy. And even during the vote…
“Dat’s why yu hide an’ covew eaws aftew vote,” Lolo growled. “Yu knew what wud happen tu Toy Boat.”
By now the two had gained the attention of near everyone. Ghost and Indigo watched them with wide eyes, barely breathing, and Duffle loomed over the forming group to ensure Bunny couldn’t escape. Not that the bunfluff seemed about to do so; he all but crawled backwards to get away from Lolo, finding himself watched from all sides and then breaking down, shaking and covering his head with his forelegs. “A-Am sowwy…!”
“Bunny knew?” Snaggle repeated numbly. Lolo sneered.
“Twaitow.”
It wasn’t a word Viola had heard before, but it was one that made Bunny cringe and he sat up, panic flooding his face. “Nu! Nu am twaitow!! Nu huwt any–”
He didn’t get further before Lolo had attacked and bowled him over, the old mare knocking him onto his back and pinning him down. “EEEEP!! AM SOWWY! PWEASE NU HUWT BUNNY!!”
“Expwain!” Lolo ordered as the bunfluff fearfully hid in his forelegs. “How yu know?! Did Daddeh put yu hewe tu twick fwuffies?!”
“Nu! Nu twick anyone! Pwease!”
“Then how?!”
“Am sowwy! Pwease!!” Bunny all but wailed. “Wiww expwain jus’ pwease nu huwt Bunny!!”
“N-Nu mowe huwties…” Viola managed to plead, using a voice she did not know she still had. It took all her strength just to keep it from falling apart. “Nu… nu wan heaw mowe huwties an’ pweadies… pwease.”
Lolo relented, though her eyes were still narrow as she backed off and let Bunny sit. The green bunfluffy sniffled and took a few long seconds to recover, wiping his eyes and trying to find a good starting point. “… N-Nu wan say in hewe…”
“Expwain.”
“… B-Bunny was in last game,” Bunny finally said, ears hanging so low they near touched the floor. “Da… Da game whewe hawf of fwuffies went fowevah sweepies at stawt. Was… was su scawy, sum fwuffies twied tu go thwu doow, an’ den evewyone stawted scweaming, an’ Bwue mawe got su scawed an’ stomped Wed babbeh tu bits when wunning away, then feww into wawa an’ …”
He trailed off but nobody said anything, giving him a few moments to collect himself before continuing. “An’ onwy a few fwuffies got thwu. Owange twied tu jump tuu faw an feww into spikey twap, kept scweaming ‘bout huwties bu’ nu can hewp, an’… An’ Gway fwuffy made Bunny cawwy Gway baww, bu’ Bunny was scawed! And when Bunny am scawed, Bunny stawt… stawt gnawing on things.”
He gestured for his buckteeth, trying to keep the tears from escaping his eyes. “A-An’ An’- Bunny chewed up Gway baww. Nu mean to, was jus’ scawed, bu’ Gway fwuffy got su mad! Took Bunny’s baww and put into howe tu be mean, dat’s how fwuffies foun’ out yu need baww tu weave. An’ when Gway put in chewed baww, it…” He choked for a moment and then hung his head. “… chewed baww nu wowk. Nu was wound enough, ow nu gway enough, ow … n-nu know. But nu wowk. Made wed wight and Gway nu couwd go thwu. An’ when othew fwuffies wewe thwu, jus’… Bunny jus’ heaw Gway stawt tu scweam wots thwu doow…”
“Fwuffies nu knew bettew!” the bunfluff begun to wail, unable to stop now even if asked. “An’- An’ voted white fwuffy! Was onwy thwee fwuffies an’ nu wanted tu vote Puwpwe bu’- but nu thought White wud haf fowevah huwties! B-Buh’ Bunny needed baww tu go on an’- an-”
Lolo’s face had softened, and Duffle stepped forward to lay his big head on Bunny to calm him down. Soon Lolo and Snaggle followed suit, creating a fluffpile to calm the bunnyfluff’s meltdown. Indigo pressed herself against Viola, still shell-shocked and too intimidated by the amount of noise to join the fluffpile, and Viola hugged her close.
“… Bunny win wast game?” Indigo whispered. “But am stiww pwaying?”
“Am Bunny… Wast game’s winnew?” Viola asked, but louder so that the bunnyfluff would hear. His cries having quieted, Bunny shook his head.
“A-Aftew vote, was onwy Bunny an’ Puwpwe weft, an nu wanted tu vote anymowe. Tuu scawed, an’ nu wanned tu wose each othew,” he explained sorrowfully. “Su fwuffies wooked fow a way out… An’ aftew second scawy chawwenge game, was in haww-way befowe voties woom, an’ wooked awound weaw hawd… Fwuffies foun’ way out, managed tu open doow tu a big pwetty gawden. Shouwd haf weft, but was su happy tu escape an’ just huggied Puwpwe an’ cwied, an’…” He stopped for a moment to steady his trembling voice. “… Then got weawwy sweepy, an’ woke back up in scawy basement with yu fwuffies…”
That was… terrible. To be so close to freedom, only to lose it again… Viola found her grip on Indigo tightening as the foal nestled into her fur and closed her eyes. “What… what about Puwpwe?”
Bunny shook his head again. “Nu know. Bunny am su wowwied…”
“Fwuffies wiww find Puwpwe,” Lolo promised. Her earlier ire had completely disappeared now that she knew the full story, and what was left was only sadness. “Nu wowwy. But, when yu knew aww dis, why nu wawn about voties being su bad?”
“Was scawed,” the bunnyfluff murmured. “Bunny thought, if fwuffies nu wan tu vote, nu wiww get bawws back, an’ … An’ den maybe get wowst huwties wike Gway fwuffy did. Ow Bunny be onwy votew, an’… then Toy Boat wouwd be aww Bunny’s fauwt…”
The air felt heavy. Nobody said anything. Knowing she had contributed to Toy Boat’s death was bad enough; Viola couldn’t even imagine being the sole reason for what had happened.
“… Yu said… Aftew second chawwenge, was a way out?” Lolo finally asked. “Then… Wowo thinks fwuffies shouwd gu an’ find dat exit.”
As the fluffpile agreed and begun to unravel, a cautious voice spoke up. Ghost, who had spent the entire ordeal watching from behind his podium, suddenly made his presence known. “Fwuffies? Thewe’s, um, a pwobwem.”
As all eyes fell on him, the white fluffy indicated the spotlight in the middle of the room. On the lit-up circle on the floor was an immense amount of blood, and -
Blue.
The blue unicorn was sitting directly underneath Toy Boat’s corpse, staring up unblinkingly as blood dripped onto its face. Its fur was already heavily stained; how long had it been there? Had it sat there ever since Lolo accused Bunny and everyone’s attention was elsewhere? Even now it showed no sign of having heard the conversation, just sat there and stared.
“Snaggwe wiww take cawe of it,” Snaggle sighed sadly, letting the others collect themselves as she approached the unicorn. “Bwue? It’s time tu go.”
“Nu yet,” Blue answered without moving its gaze. “Fwen nu haf come down yet.”
The red mare exhaled, evidently trying to think of how to break the news. “Bwue… Toy Boat nu am coming.”
“Fwen haf huwties,” Blue spoke again, not listening. “Needs fwuffy tu gif huggies an’ make bettew.”
“W-Wisten… Toy Boat am gone, took fowevah sweepies.”
“Fwen wiww come down when sweepy. Fwuffy wiww be hewe tu catch, so nu haf mowe huwties.”
Snaggle gave the others a helpless look, faced with an utter refusal to believe the truth. Viola didn’t know how to help, and it didn’t seem like anyone else did either. Even Lolo just averted her eyes and focused on the others.
Finally, as her eyes fell on Toy Boat’s podium, the red mare had an idea. She fetched not only Blue’s own ball, but also the orange ball left for Toy Boat to take, and placed them both in front of Blue. “Hewe. If yu keep dis, Toy Boat wiww be wif yu.”
Blue slowly lowered its head, looking blankly at the balls. “Fwen’s bawwie?”
Having gotten a reaction, Snaggle nodded. “Toy Boat nu can pway anymowe, wight? Su Toy Boat needs yu to howd onto owange baww.”
“An’ if fwuffy haf baww,” Blue mumbled, “Fwen nu can wose bwing-bawwies-tu-end gamesie… Cus fwuffy win game fow fwen?”
“D-Dat’s wight. Fwen nu am awwowed to pway anymowe, an’ othew fwuffies am weaving now, su Toy Boat needs Bwue to pway instead.”
“Otay…” Blue looked back up at the mangled corpse of its friend and smiled brightly. “Nu wowwy, fwen! Wait thewe and nu faww, fwuffy wiww be back soon!”
And so, the fluffies left the blood-stained voting room in three groups. One at the front, with Duffle, Lolo and Bunny… One in the middle, as Viola and Ghost helped Indigo move her ball… and at the very tail end, Snaggle and Blue both carrying the wooden mementos of their dead.
< previous | index | next >