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Rainbow Game, Room 8
Runaway
Viola didn’t stop hugging Bunny until she was sure he was okay. Once the sobs had died down and the green fluffy had stopped trembling, lying wrapped around her like a stuffy friend, only then did Viola’s hold ease.
“Nee’ find way out…” Bunny murmured between apologies and thank-yous. “Nu wan mowe dead fwens. Nu can do mowe voties, nu can wet mowe fwuffies die. Nee’ find way out.”
The bunnyfluff licked his wounds as best he could as the fluffpile finally broke up, Viola not allowing herself to fully let go until she was certain he wouldn’t harm himself again. He still seemed able to walk on his leg, so thankfully he hadn’t bitten too deep into it, and he didn’t take long to sniff around the walls again.
As Bunny and Lolo began to search, Viola finally became aware of eyes searing into her back. She turned to see Ghost; the only one who had chosen not to take part in the fluffpile, he instead sat by Snaggle with his dark eyes affixed to Viola. This whole time he hadn’t said anything nor moved. Had he just… watched?
Snaggle had changed posture, so she could still move and wasn’t completely broken, but her eyes were still unfocused and distant and all she wanted to do was cry to herself. Thankfully Duffle was already moving to pick her up, so Ghost left the red mare’s side to rejoin Viola. She smiled up at the batfluffy, starting to follow Bunny and Lolo -
Only to be stopped by Ghost’s hoof. Viola again looked up at her friend, this time in confusion. “Huh? What am Ghost doing?”
The batfluffy didn’t say anything at first, but instead laid his forelegs around the filly and started licking at her fluff. Viola fumbled a little in an attempt to pull free. “Ghost?”
“Yu haf booboo juice in fwuff,” Ghost answered quietly and resumed licking. Booboo juice? It took Viola a moment to realize she must have gotten bloodied from Bunny’s injured leg pressing against her, and with a sigh - reminded of the blood coating Blue’s fur that hadn’t come off until the water room - she relented and let Ghost clean her.
Watching Duffle walk past, the fluffalo near-dragging Snaggle to make her walk by herself, Viola waited patiently for Ghost to finish so that the two could catch up. Except, even when her fur was clean, the batfluff didn’t stop. She could tell that he was done, his licking slowing and losing its purpose as his interest shifted from Viola to the fluffies ahead of them, but he still wasn’t letting go.
“Ghost, fwuffies am fawwing behind,” she pointed out, trying to wiggle free only to find Ghost’s hold tightening. “Ghost! Wet go, nee’ catch up!”
For a few seconds the batfluff didn’t reply, snout nestled into Viola’s fur, but finally he spoke. “… Nu am going.”
“Wha?”
“Nu am going tu next vote.” Ghost raised his head to look after the other fluffies, and Viola tried to crawl out of his grip; but as she managed to half-climb over his hooves the batfluffy’s fang suddenly sank into her scruff, piercing the skin and making Viola yelp in pain as he pulled her back.
What had gotten into him?! Sure, she didn’t want to vote anymore either, but…! He was hurting her now, not letting go even though she’d yelped!! “Wet go! Am huwting Viowa!”
Ghost gave no reply, but the grip on Viola’s scruff disappeared in an instant. He instead just hugged her close, licking away any beads of blood.
“Pwease wet go! Fwuffies nu am going tu vote, am wooking fow way out!” Viola whined helplessly, trying to convince her friend. Ghost hesitated at the words, so she continued: “Is twue! Dat’s what Bunny said!”
When Ghost didn’t reply she thought he’d understood, but when she looked up the batfluffy’s ears were low and his dark eyes narrow. “Ghost nu twust Bunny.”
What? Oh, no… Was this because Bunny had voted Indigo? Viola faltered at the realization of why her guardian was acting so strange. She’d assumed that it had been shyness or awkwardness that prevented Ghost from joining the fluffpile, but could it have been anger? Was he afraid of Bunny voting for Viola next?
“Bunny nu mean tu! Nu wiww vote Viowa!” she assured him, but Ghost’s expression didn’t change. “Wh-what about othew fwuffies? They am fwens!” she then tried. Ghost shook his head. “… Ghost nu am fwens wif anyone?”
“Am fwens wif yu,” the batfluffy corrected her in a quiet voice, watching the group ahead. Lolo had finally noticed the two staying behind and was backtracking, a sight that made Ghost’s eyes lower.
“What about Wowo?” Viola asked, pointing out the old mare. “Yu can twust Wowo! Dat am fwen!”
“Am dummy,” murmured Ghost. “Fow twusting Bunny.” Despite his protests, however, he seemed to realize there was no use lingering any longer unless he wanted a fight. He grabbed Viola’s scruff once more, his hold much gentler than before, then stood and pulled her to her hooves before letting go. He didn’t apologize, but there was some degree of shame in his expression as he began to walk and nudged Viola along.
“Nu faww behind,” Lolo chided as they met up with her partway, checking Viola over for any damage to her body or hind legs. She didn’t seem to notice the bite mark, just letting out a small huff. “What wewe fwuffies doing?”
“Was cweaning booboo juices,” Ghost answered quietly, unwilling to provide more detail. “Nu wan Viowa tu wook dat way.”
Viola didn’t know how to correct him. How was she meant to explain what happened? Would telling Lolo that Ghost had tried to make her stay behind create another rift and mess everything up again? She could easily imagine the two fluffies at odds with each other again, arguing and fighting, the stress sending Bunny into another self-destructive breakdown.
So she didn’t say anything, nodding in agreement with Ghost’s lie. Lolo was clearly doubtful, perhaps noticing the glum faces on both liars, but in the end she just sighed and shook her head as they walked. “Nu do dat again. Nee’ stay togethew, nu spwit up just fow wickie cweanies.”
“Otay.”
As they returned to the rest of the group, Lolo wedged her way in between the young mare and Ghost. “Yu am suwe yu am otay?” she asked in a quiet whisper, snout lowered right to Viola’s ear. “Ghost nu huwt yu?”
He had. Viola couldn’t deny it; the thought of lying about such a thing left her heart twisted up in a knot and when she hesitated, Lolo gave her an understanding and gentle lick. “It otay. Nu wiww wet dat happen again.”
Bunny was nosing around the wall ahead with Duffle aiding him in his search. Snaggle had recovered somewhat, enough to walk on her own, but she still seemed lost in thought and her movements were aimless. As they got closer Ghost hesitated and stopped, and a few steps later Lolo did the same, but Viola didn’t notice until she had reached the others; looking back to see the white and yellow fluffies talking, it was clear that they were up to something important so she decided to instead talk to Snaggle.
“Snaggwe?” she asked the red-furred mare, setting a hoof to her foreleg. “Am yu otay now?”
Snaggle looked down at her and Viola could at once tell she was not, in fact, okay. Dark rings lined her eyes and her gaze hardly seemed focused on Viola at all, shifting between her and a space slightly to her left. “Viowa…”
The young fluffy struggled to find the words. “… Am yu otay?”
It wasn’t what she wanted to ask. Not really. But her real question - why Snaggle had shouted Indigo’s name, why she had talked to things that weren’t there - was impossible to phrase right, and the answer frightened her. So Viola scuffed her hoof lightly against the ground and just picked the safer question, hoping for a safe response.
Snaggle looked down at her in silence, now giving Viola her full attention, expression slowly twisting into grief. “Nu, am… am sowwy, nu can…”
She turned to the wall, closing her eyes, and Viola’s heart sank. Without knowing what to do she hugged Snaggle, trying to help the only way she knew how, even as she felt Snaggle shudder and hold her ears. Then, after what felt like a small eternity, the red mare lowered her hooves and spoke again in a gentle, suffering tone. “Jus’… miss Smawty. Snaggwe jus’ misses Smawty.”
Viola nodded slowly. “Viowa miss famiwy tuu… and miss Indigo, an’ Bwue, and…” Snaggle flinched, causing her to stop. The reminder must still be too raw, she decided, and instead nestled into Snaggle’s side without anything more than a quiet ‘sowwy’.
She stayed like that, watching how Lolo and Ghost finished their conversation, Lolo joining Bunny’s search for an exit while Ghost trailed slowly behind. He looked equal amounts ashamed and distraught, clearly rattled by whatever they had talked about. Had Lolo figured out what happened and chided him? Viola wondered about it, but since Snaggle had yet to hug back, she didn’t stray from the red mare’s side to go ask.
Finally, pawing at the wall near the voting room, Bunny lit up with a delighted cry. “Hewe! Dis am spot!!” he called before starting to dig at it, trying to force himself through the wall via willpower alone, and to Viola’s surprise - he succeeded! His front half suddenly vanished into the wall, tearing the surface open along a seam, and then he pulled back with a small hop. “Dis way! Hewe am exit!!”
Duffle joined in, tearing the wall open further with his horns, and as the other fluffies gathered Viola and Snaggle joined them. The red mare finally seemed to be recovering, watching Bunny vanish out the torn wall with shining eyes. Viola paused to look at the tear, thinking it looked strangely soft - more like her owner’s sheets and drapes back home than a proper, hard wall - but quickly found herself pushed through by Lolo and then she was outside.
Once everyone was through and accounted for Viola looked around, marveling at the new area. Because they weren’t outdoors, not yet. Instead they were in a huge room with metal walls and stone floors, much larger and emptier than anything Viola had ever seen before. “Wha …?”
“What am dis?” Lolo asked breathlessly. The old mare was staring at where they had come from, slowly backing away to get a better view. Viola followed suit, puzzled about the yellow fluffy’s reaction … and stopped cold.
What Bunny had broken through wasn’t a wall. It was a … tunnel? A long, thick tube of some kind, going between two huge boxes. Was that where they had been this whole time? Was that box, right next to where they’d broken out, what contained the horrible voting room?
“Dis way,” Bunny called, already poised to keep moving. “Nee’ huwwy!”
Lolo nudged Viola to her side, snapping her out of her stunned state, and began to walk. “Bunny, what am dis? What am happening?”
“Game wooms,” Bunny replied without looking at them, focused more on his own steps. “At weast think so. Nee’ keep going, exit am dis way.”
There was a distinct tinge of frustration in Lolo’s response but Viola didn’t listen to what it was, more concerned with the surroundings. The giant room wasn’t fully empty, but she couldn’t make sense of its contents. There were long pieces of wood and metal scattered about and leaned on the walls, and tall metal poles with turned-off lights or large camera boxes on top, their round red lenses slowly trailing after the fluffies. The lighting was dim and weak, coming from tiny windows and ceiling lamps placed so high up they could have been the sun.
“Wait, Smawty!” Snaggle called, hurrying from the back of the group and leaving Ghost to trail behind alone. What she was chasing wasn’t clear, none of them could be considered a smarty, but as she reached Lolo and Viola her pace slowed and Viola gave her a concerned look. She didn’t notice. “Snaggwe am sowwy fow wosing baww. Am sowwy fow yewwing! Pwease come back!”
“What am yu tawking about …?” Viola asked softly, as though Lolo wouldn’t hear if she was quiet enough. “Why Snaggwe keep tawkies tu fwuffies dat nu am hewe…?”
Lolo glanced down to her. Snaggle opened her mouth as if to reply, but then looked away and murmured something to herself.
Ahead of them, Bunny suddenly stopped in his tracks. He stood tense and frozen, staring at another huge box, this one not connected to any tubes or tunnels, an open gap where it would have connected.
“Bunny?” Lolo asked slowly. Viola leaned her head to see in through the gap; it was hard to see much inside, but the floor and walls were all blackened.
“D-Dat,” Bunny gasped shallowly, “dat am second game.”
“What?”
“Dat am Bunny’s second game,” the bunfluff repeated, trembling as though he wanted to take off running the instant his legs worked again. “Fiyah woom. B-Bunny and Puwpwe … dat am gamesie … went in woom and, and fiyah came fwom behind, and had to wun and …”
“Wait,” Lolo stopped him. “Dis… dis am chawwenge woom?”
Bunny nodded quickly and tore his gaze away from the box with a deep shudder as he continued onward. “Exit, nee’ exit, dis way …”
Lolo stood still for a few moments, looking at the box, then nudged Viola to keep walking. The violet mare couldn’t help but see the hints of another box behind it, and the half-dismantled form of a second tunnel like the one they had escaped. Then the glimpse of a colorful, wide frog’s smile between the pieces made her heart beat faster and she forced herself to stop looking.
“Hewe!” Bunny sprang to a wall and stopped by a door half-hidden by cables and junk. Then he sniffed at it and grew fretful, front hoof beginning to tap anxiously.
“What’s wong?” Lolo asked. Viola took a moment to glance back, making sure the others were keeping up; Snaggle was lost in her own thoughts, while Duffle had caught wind of Ghost’s slow pace and was pushing the batfluff ahead of himself.
“Doow am exit… Was bwoken, had big howe,” explained Bunny and stepped aside a little to show the issue. Part of the door looked damaged, but that part had been blocked off by a wooden panel and thick pieces of wood had been nailed across it. “Bu’ Daddeh wemove howe. Need tu gnaw new howe, jus’ wait a widdwe!”
“Duffew can hewp,” Duffle offered quietly, releasing Ghost as he walked to the door. He still sounded a little hoarse, Viola noted with a wince. Lolo and Viola backed up a bit to give them space, and as Bunny started gnawing apart the wooden planks Viola decided to check in on Ghost.
“Am yu otay?” she asked gently, ears held low as she saw the guilty look on Ghost’s face.
“Sowwy,” the batfluff whispered. “Nu know… Nu mean tu, eh…” He hesitated, seemingly trying to find what to say. “Weww…”
“What did Wowo say tu make Ghost su huwt?”
“Nuthing.” Ghost shook his head. “Nu wowwy. An’, thank yu…”
“Viowa!” Lolo intercepted, joining the two. “Nu wawk away, otay? Wowo said nu wiww wet yu get huwt again…”
Despite the kind intentions, Viola instinctively grew defensive. “Ghost wooks sad, am jus’ checking so am otay! Nu wan any mowe saddies, nu fwom anyone!”
The old mare frowned, but instead of arguing gave Viola a small pat. “Jus’ be cawefuw.”
“Viowa wiww… But Viowa twust Ghost. Nu wiww huwt again.”
Ghost looked deeply ashamed as he nodded. At the door, Bunny whined. “Anothew panew…? Nu can gnaw weww…”
Duffle lightly nudged him aside, took aim, and headbutted the wooden panel with all his strength. There was a sharp crack as the wood broke apart, allowing a thin stream of light to enter, and Bunny wasted no time in widening the gap until he could break through. The other fluffies only watched with wide eyes and bated breath until he was through; then, as soon as the bunnyfluff’s green fur vanished from sight, Lolo pushed for Viola to follow.
She stumbled through the broken door and looked around in awe. They were out! The grass under her hooves was soft and warm, the sun high and bright in the sky. A wooden fence stood on either side of them but straight ahead lay a city street, with other houses and even a road. It was just like Viola’s yard back home! She… She was out! She could go home!!
Tears filled the violet youth’s eyes and she tried not to break down then and there. Behind her Ghost winced at the sudden sunlight, while Snaggle looked around in quiet awe. Lolo moved a few steps ahead of them, looking back at the others, and Duffle …
Where was Duffle? Viola looked back to see the fluffalo struggle to fit through, his body too large. He thrashed and lashed out, and with the strongest headbutt he could manage tore open the weakened door further, but as he did there was a sickening CRACK and his damaged horn broke off completely. He seemed to find it a reasonable sacrifice, but he was cringing and slow as he dragged himself through the hole.
“Fwuffies… am safe…” breathed Lolo, lying down. She seemed exhausted; Viola could understand, she felt tired too. Ahead of them, a pang of fear crossed Bunny’s expression and he lost his breath.
Why was he scared? They were out, right? But then Snaggle shook her head, struggling to stay awake, and Viola began to realize something was wrong. They shouldn’t all be so tired, and the grass smelled weird… Bunny backed up with hurried steps, fighting against his exhaustion, and then - out of nowhere - he bit deep into his foreleg to jolt himself awake. Viola gasped in horror. “Bunny!?”
He didn’t reply, but the look he gave Viola was enough of an answer. She wanted to calm him, to hug him better, but despite her best efforts to stay awake it was getting hard to move. Her legs gave out and she could only reach for Bunny as he backed off, biting down harder despite the blood flowing from his leg. Then he turned, releasing his leg to instead bite through his undamaged ear, and sprinted away as everything slowly went black.
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