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Rainbow Game, Epilogue
Breathe
Truth be told, Viola didn’t remember much of what happened after the police came. There was a bunch of them and they were all so sudden and so loud, and she was so tired. She remembered they were nice, at least to the little girl holding her - asking what happened and if she was okay and all those kinds of things. At least one ran further in to look for Daddy.
What she remembered best was the word ‘shelter’, and how the girl reacted. She’d said no, asked if she could keep them instead, had held up Viola and said, “This is my classmate Janey’s fluffy, I have to bring her home”.
Snaggle had run just before the police appeared. Everyone else had been rounded up; Viola remembered how limply Ghost hung in a man’s grip. And she remembered how tightly the little human, her mummah’s classmate, had held onto her; refusing to let go, even as the police said Viola was hurt and needed help. That they both needed help from different places.
She’d stayed in the girl’s arms all the way to the hospital.
The grass was warm. Viola wasn’t allowed to be in the yard without a human anymore, none of the fluffies were, but her little owner Janey was nearby so it was alright. At first, her little mummah had been worried Viola wouldn’t wanna be in the yard anymore, since that was where she’d been stolen - but the gentle breeze and smells and little birdy sounds all made up for any scariness. It was different from the awful little rooms and trapped spaces Frog Daddy had put her through.
She was dozing off when there was a thud just by her nose, and Viola sleepily opened her eyes. Something was lying in front of her. It was colorful and weird-looking and already Janey was getting up to chase off the boys that had thrown it. Viola didn’t quite understand - she reached out with a hoof and nudged the colorful thing, causing it to roll a bit, and reveal …
Frog!! Viola shrieked and scrambled to her hooves. She hadn’t recognized it until those beady eyes and the big mouth came up, and outside the yard she heard the boys laugh as they ran.
“Stupid bully jerks…” muttered Janey, hooking an arm under Viola’s belly and lifting her into her arms. “It’s just a toy, it’s not real. Come on, let’s go inside; being out here’s no fun anymore.”
Viola whined, nestling into her little owner’s arms. She felt the same way; frogs ruined everything. Ever since the Rainbow Game, Janey’s classmates had been lots more curious and come by more often, but some were meanies about it. This was the second time they’d thrown not-real toy frogs at her! “Why am Kywe an’ Vectow so meanies tu Viowa?”
“Because they’re stupid no-good jerk-heads,” Janey replied. A little more walking, one snatched-up device, and then the girl plopped to a sit on the soft pillows of the living room couch. The TV that clicked on was a little bit loud, a little too buzzy for the first few moments, and Viola closed her eyes in case a frog would pop up on the screen. Then came the joking words and canned laughter of a show her owners liked, and everything felt a bit okay again. The filly relaxed.
“Oh, hey. She’s okay,” Janey suddenly said. Viola opened her eyes to see two pale pupils peering over the end of the couch, only a hint of Ghost’s white snout visible. “Just my stupid classmates playing tricks on her again, with their dumb plastic toads.”
The batfluff’s concerned gaze softened a bit. “Otay, am gwad…”
“Come here, let me haul you up,” the girl offered but when she reached to pick him up, Ghost moved away. “What, you don’t want to?”
“Nee’ go teww Wowo Viowa am otay,” the batfluff mumbled and walked off. Viola knew that wasn’t the whole story, though she was sure Lolo had heard her scream too. But Ghost didn’t seem to like TV much. Maybe it was all the human voices or the buzzy hint of a sound like Frog Daddy’s awful screens, or maybe it was just too bright for his eyes - she didn’t know why, really. But he didn’t like TV the way Viola or the humans did, and soon he was gone. The filly sank into Janey’s lap and for a little while, she just watched the humans on the screen saying jokes she didn’t understand and waiting as laughter played.
Janey never laughed the same way the TV did, but the show still seemed to cheer her up, so Viola enjoyed it too. It was normal and nice. Like before everything bad happened.
A knocking at the door interrupted the end of the show and Janey rolled her eyes, carefully moving Viola to the pillow by her side before standing. “Coming!”
Maybe it was Daddy, back from his ‘job’ thingy, Viola thought. Good Human Daddy. Not Frog Daddy - that was the mean monster Daddy. As Janey left the room, the filly crawled to the armrest of the couch and peered above it to see if she was right, waiting for her little owner to return with Daddy’s big form in tow.
But instead, after a brief moment of only hearing far-away voices, the one who burst into view was a girl with a long braid and all sorts of colors - tailed by a black, horn-less fluffalo.
“Hey hey! Maria and Big Duff’s in the house!” she called and Viola lit up, trying to scrabble down from the couch. It was a bit high up though, and before she had gotten down, she was swept into the newcomer’s arms. “Hey Viola! Aww, I forgot how cute you are when happy. Feels like ages since I saw that face!”
“So are you all okay now?” Janey asked as the two girls sat on the couch. Duffle sat on the floor at his new owner’s feet. “You’re not wearing the bandages anymore.”
“Yup, tip-top!” beamed Maria, putting a hand on the fluffalo’s big head. “And you know, after everything wrapped up and I could go home, mom and dad felt so sorry about Bunny’s death they said they’d pay for whatever new fluffy I wanted. So we checked with that farm Duff was brought back to – and he was still available! So he’s mine now, Big Duff’s here to stay!”
“Duffew, am su happy fow yu!” Viola cheered, climbing down to try and hug Duffle but finding herself unable to reach quite far enough.
“But a work fluffy? He must have been way expensive!” Janey gasped. “Your poor parents…”
“Actually not!” snickered Maria. “Apparently, a fluffalo without horns is worth way less, so the farmer was happy anyone wanted him at all. I bet he was cheaper there than from the shelter. Oh - speaking of, where’s Granny and Spooks?”
“They’re in the saferoom. Lolo sleeps a lot of the time nowadays, and Ghost doesn’t like being out when it’s bright.”
“How come you got both, anyway? I coulda sworn your dad only agreed to having three fluffies in the house.”
“Well, that was the plan, but Viola was so distraught about it…” Janey sighed lightly and ran a hand across Viola’s head. “You should have seen her. It wasn’t possible for her to pick at all, and when dad actually looked at them, he gave in right away. Lots of people wanted to grab them once they were up for adoption, but after that whole Frog Daddy junk…”
“Ugh, yeah. Last thing they need’s some copycat killer getting hold of them.” Maria stuck her tongue out in disgust.
The TV, buzzing on with ads and chatter for this or that, played the jingle of a new show starting. It wasn’t the fun kind of jingle, though, and Janey groaned the way she did every time the news show came on. As she reached for the remote, Maria stopped her.
“No, hang on, I think they’re gonna talk about the frog trial,” she said.
“You really want to see that? I thought you’d have enough of it with the press and court and stuff.”
“They’ve been looking into more about his freaky black web show, seeing if it can be linked to more petnappings. That’s the stuff grown-ups take me out of the courtroom for, cuz they think it’s too horrible and gross! I wanna know how bad he’s gonna get messed up for what he did!”
“Well, okay, but… I’m not having Viola here for it, okay?” Janey looked down to Viola and gently picked her from the couch, placing her onto the floor. “Hey, go take Duff to the saferoom and show him around, okay? I bet Lolo and Ghost are gonna love seeing him again.”
“By the way, I thought you renamed him Casper,” said Maria. “Did that not stick?”
“Nope. He seemed really uncomfortable losing his old name, so we kept it. It’s become an in-joke if he’s grumpy though. ‘Casper, you’re not being a very friendly ghost’!”
As the two kept chatting, backed by the news talking about something or other, Viola trotted off to the saferoom. She liked her saferoom! And oh - she lit up with the thought of showing Duffle not just to Lolo and Ghost, but introducing him to her mom too!
“Mummah!” she chimed as she walked into the colorful playroom, its gate left open. “Wowo, Ghost! Wookie! Duffew’s hewe!!”
Lolo raised her head from the soft pillow by the window where she liked to lie, attention piqued. The way she approached Duffle, it was hard to imagine she’d ever limped as badly as during the Rainbow Game. “It weawwy am yu… Wowo am happy tu see yu am otay.”
Ghost’s reaction was far more guarded - no, more than guarded, he stood pressed against the wall and stared with his fur on edge. Viola faltered only slightly before being interrupted by her own mother curiously walking up. “Duffew? Su dis am big big fwuffy dat hewp babbeh?”
“Yus, it am!” Viola nodded.
Her mother smiled kindly. “Thank yu su much fow hewping Viowa. Am Pwimavewa, Viowa’s mummah.”
For a while, the little group chatted in the way fluffies liked to do, with Duffle as quiet as he often liked to be. But then he nodded his head toward Ghost and spoke. “Gif Duffew a momen’. Viowa an’ Wowo, come tuu.”
He walked to Ghost with the other two in tow, leaving Viola’s mom to sit and wait behind. When he reached him, he hesitated and scuffed his hoof, then bowed his head. “Duffew knows Ghost nu wike Duffew. An’ am sowwy. But, Duffew haf tu teww fwuffies sumfing.”
“What do yu want…?” Ghost asked warily. Not getting angry, at least, and not saying no or refusing to listen. Just looking unsure and uncomfortable.
“Duffew saw Snaggwe eawwiew.”
That caught everyone’s attention. Snaggle? Nobody had seen her since the Rainbow Game - even the humans didn’t know where she’d gone! Lolo was the first to speak. “Did Snaggwe seem otay?”
“Was wooking fow hewd. Was awone…”
“Nu was huwt?” Viola asked. “Stiww haf ghosties?”
The fluffalo nodded slowly. “Said tu say hi fwom Bunny. Nu fink had any othew ghosties.”
Oh… That meant no Toy Boat or Blue or Indigo. Viola felt a hurt sting in her chest. She’d hoped the others would stay with Snaggle forever, but maybe not… “Nu even dat meanie Smawty …?”
“Onwy said hi fwom Bunny.”
“Whewe was Snaggwe?” Lolo asked, a slightly strange tone in her voice. “Was faw away?”
“Nu, was neaw Mummah Mawia’s nestie,” replied Duffle.
“Whewe am dat?”
“… Wowo,” Ghost finally spoke cautiously. “What am yu doing?”
The old mare smiled sadly. “Ghost, yu am hewping Viowa wots, an’ Wowo feews safe. But, thewe nu am anyfing tu do hewe othew than sweepies. Nu fink having hoomans am fow Wowo… And, nu wan Snaggwe tu be aww awone.”
“Wowo am weaving!?” Viola gasped with horror. “Nu, nu weave!”
“It otay,” cooed Lolo, hugging the filly to herself. “Nu wiww be awways. Wowo wiww go find Snaggwe, an’ hewp Snaggwe find hewd. An’ then wiww come back. Teww widdwe mummah and big daddeh dat, otay? Be stwong and wait, an’ wisten tu Ghost an’ Pwimavewa, otay?”
“… Otay…”
Duffle hesitated. “Den… Wowo go back wif Duffew an’ Mummah Mawia? Can show whewe saw Snaggwe…”
“Dat sounds gud. Nee’ teww widdwe mummah am going, tuu,” agreed the old mare.
Rising, Duffle moved to leave, but then paused. He lowered his head to Ghost, nearly booping his snout with his own. “Duffew weawwy am sowwy. Hope Ghost can fowgive Duffew, one day.”
And then the two headed out. Viola soon followed, entering the living room just in time to hear her little Janey’s shocked yelp. “What!? No, no way!”
“But it’s for Reds.” Maria watched her friend get up and hurriedly dig through a drawer. “Can’t you let her? I’ll keep my eye on her so she’s fine.”
“That’s not the problem!” huffed Janey. “If she’s mistaken for a feral, then I dunno what’d happen! Lesse… Okay, here’s one!” She pulled out a collar, a faded blue-green color that didn’t match Lolo’s fur well, and returned to wrap it around the mare’s neck. “You’ve gotta wear this all the time, okay Lolo? And if you find this Snaggles, you make sure to take her to Maria and get one put on her too. It’s a symbol, it means if someone hurts you, they’ll be in trouble. And, and be careful, and …”
She sighed, deflating a little. “And come back to us. Okay? Please. I don’t want to be scared again…”
“Wowo wiww be otay,” the old mare assured, setting a hoof to Janey’s leg. “Nu wowwy. Am owd fwuffy; nu haf died yet, and nu pwan tu die yet. Wowo pwomise wiww be back.”
“… Okay…”
“You can tell your dad she’s staying with me a while,” Maria offered. “I’ll keep an eye on her, don’t worry. She’ll be safe and sound! And, if anything happens - I’ll be right there to find her and bring her back safely!”
Janey chuckled weakly, hugging Lolo and then standing. “Thank you.” She wiped her face, not to get rid of tears, but to pre-empt them. “For… for everything, Maria. For this, for saving Viola… But… Please. Don’t put yourself in danger again.”
Jumping to her feet with a smile, Maria struck a pose. “Hey, I’ve told you before! You can’t be a detective if you’re scared of danger!”
“I’m serious!” Janey suddenly grabbed Maria and jostled her out of the pose. “I’m serious. Please. I’m super grateful that you helped me and Viola but… You got hurt. If anything worse had happened, you’d … I don’t want to think about losing a friend on top of my fluffy!”
“We weren’t friends yet at the time,” teased Maria, her smile growing a bit more apologetic.
“A classmate then! And we’re friends now – I just… please, please, take your own safety into account too. Don’t go into danger without telling anyone. Please.”
For a few moments the two just stood there, then Janey sank into her friend with a hug. Maria hugged back reassuringly. “Okay, okay… I won’t go alone. I’ll tell you the moment I’m investigating something, and everything will be okay. Safe and sound, alright?”
There was a small nod. “Safe and sound.”
“But - we’re not leaving yet!” Maria broke the hug and pulled her friend away a bit, brightening. “For now, we’re here to hang out and we’re gonna hang until your dad gets home! You still stuck on that boss in Mario 3?”
Janey chuckled just slightly. “Well, it’s more that I can’t reach the boss…”
“And whatever it is, I’ll help ya beat it! Now come on, let’s go cheer up and get our minds off everything bad with our new pile of pals, yeah?”
“Yeah. Let’s.”
For the next few hours, Viola rested in Janey’s lap as she played games with Maria, neither of them managing to beat that one boss but both having too fun to care. Duffle lay behind them as a back rest, with Primavera and Lolo and even Ghost tucked close to the girls, all knowing it was the first and last time they’d all be together for a while.
Everything was changing so fast, as it had for so long. But for now Viola just rested, enjoying the time she had with the friends she’d managed to save, and just for a bit, everything felt okay.
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