Bandages
Blaze sighed as he squatted awkwardly in his carrier, trying his best to scratch himself. The unicorn always hated any trip to the vet, but none had compared to how awful his latest had been. The day had started out wonderfully, with lots of running and playing in his saferoom, his beloved owner reading him his favorite story, and even the promise of spaghetti for dinner. But the unicorn’s well intentioned excitement lead to disaster when he saw that the door had been left slightly open. Wanting to see his daddy make the much desired meal, he startled his owner as he was moving the pot of noodles, causing him to spill the boiling water onto Blaze.
Screaming in pain, the fluffy went into shock almost immediately, having never even approached that level of suffering in his entire life. He had come in and out as the Doctors had been treating him, every nerve raw in his body raw and throbbing while he tried his best not to black out. Blaze could hear the strange men saying something to his owner about not going home anytime soon, and a few strange terms that the unicorn simply couldn’t comprehend. But one word rang clearly, as the addled fluff started to mumble and kick lightly despite his sedation, namely the word carrier. Despite his owner’s attempt to give it a new and less frightening name, Blaze quickly realized that it was a ploy to keep him from realizing what it truly was: a sorry-box. Struggling against the drug induced twilight, the unicorn had plead with his owner, his tongue oddly heavy and slowing his words.
“N…nu sow…sowwy box…Bw…Bwaze be gud…”
Blaze had gone unconscious right after, unsure of how long he’d been out, only that he had awoken alone and in the carrier, with something wrapped tightly around him that made his skin itch despite all his attempts to rub at it with his hooves. Worse still, he was being punished, placed within a sorry-box when all he had wanted was to see his owner. Whimpering as he tugged and gnawed at his bandages, Blaze slowly grew from dour to angry. He was a good fluffy after all. Why should he be punished, put away in a sorry-box just because he loved his daddy.
“Nu am faiw…Bwaze am gud fwuffy…Bwaze git ow’t of sowwy box…Dat wiww sho meanie daddeh…”
The unicorn had seen how his owner latched and unlatched the carrier’s grating several times, always curious if he could open it but too meek to ever try. But Blaze felt emboldened, outraged at his mistreatment and eager to liberate himself. Pawing awkwardly at the gate, it took several minutes for the unicorn to finally feel the mechanism at the side, pushing it with all the strength his tiny frame could muster until the hatch finally slung open.
"Yay!!! Bwaze am smawt an’ make sowwy box open!!! Nu mowe sowwy box for…*SCREEEEEE!!!"
Trying to walk free, Blaze hadn’t realized that the carrier was on a rather high table, the unicorn struggling as he fell free of the crate, his bandages getting caught and unraveling as he was spun relentlessly on his way down. With a nightmarish last tug, the fluffy’s still wounded flesh was ripped free, leaving the now dying unicorn bloodied and chirping on the floor.
Melting
It had been days since Bluebell had seen her house, the unfortunate mare now lost and slowly dying of thirst. Being a housefluff all her life, she was hesitant to eat anything other than her kibble at first, but hunger had quickly changed her mind. With little else around, Bluebell had been forced to graze on the dwindling grass, coughing in fits as the dry, brownish tufts stuck to her mouth, parching her further and further. Now on her second day with nothing but the wilted overgrowth to eat, she struggled to drag herself to look for water, panting with every step.
“Bwu’beww su tewsty…nee’ wawa…”
She had trekked far, until she finally found a massive structure, far larger than her house, or any other building the mare had ever seen. It had several towers that belched black smoke into the sky, painting the horizon a dull gray and making Bluebell’s nose twitch at the awful smell in the air. But as her gaze lowered she almost squealed with delight, seeing that the scary looking building had pipes jutting out the side, pipes that ran all the way into a nearby lake. Despite her exhaustion, the mare scampered quickly towards the reservoir, finding only an old worn fence between her and quenching her thirst. Pressing against the chain links, it took Bluebell nearly a forever, but she found a spot that was old and torn, the mare just able to squeeze through. With her reward just in sight, it mattered little to Bluebell how brackish and brown the water was, the mare running up to the bank and quickly plunging her face within. But as she tried to drink from the putrid lake, she found that the water burned her skin where ever it touched.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!!”
Pulling her head out of the water, Bluebell shrieked in agony as she felt her flesh dissolving, falling free from her face in sizzling clumps. Grasping at the ruin that was once her head with her hooves, the pain quickly overwhelmed her, until she stumbled and fell into the lake, with only a red stain on the water to mark where she had been.
Impaled
The smarty was pleased that his plan was coming to fruition. Hearing rumors of a house that gave food to any fluffies that happened by, the red earthie had gathered his heard and made the journey several blocks from their nest near the dump. Many had whined and complained during the trip, but after many forevers, they could see their destination in the distance. It was just as it had been described to the smarty, a tall white house with several trees in the front yard, all of which was surrounded by a cobblestone gate.
“Wook! Deww am nummies pwace!”
“Su faw way’…an’ fwuffies tiwed…”
“Shud’up! Nu cawe dat fwuffies am tiwed! Keep moov’n!”
“Wisten tu smawty…ow ewse git sowwy hoofsies!”
“…Otay…”
With the herd cowed, they followed the red smarty until they were only a few feet from the house’s open gate. His goal finally within sight, the earthie looked back to his herd with a smug, pleased look, almost oblivious to the blue pegasus that was fleeing from the home, screaming as it ran past them.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! NUUUUUUU!!!”
Colliding with the younger green fluff, he could see the pegasus’ bloodshot eyes, wide with fear as he quickly got back up and continued to run away. Confused and on edge, the green fluff hesitated as the others walked closer.
“Fwuffy…fwuffy nu wan gu…”
“Wat?! Wat fwuffy mean nu wan gu?!”
“Tu scawy…nu wike…”
“Nu am scawy, dummeh…am fwee nummies fow hewd…”
“Buh…buh bwu fwuffy wus su scawed…Wai bwu fwuffy su scawed?”
“Den bwu fwuffy am dummeh tu! Nao, wisten tu smawty an’ come tu nummies pwace!”
“Nu…fwuffy nu wan…”
Clearly on edge from his encounter with the pegasus, the young fluff simply shook his head before running the other way, with more than a few of the others following suite. Annoyed at the disrespect, the pink unicorn nearly gave chase until she felt the smarty’s hoof gently stop her.
“Wet dummehs wun way’…mowe nummies fow west of hewd…”
Nodding at the smarty’s wisdom, she and the remainder of the herd passed through the open gate, and were quickly greeted by a tall and spindly man. Many of the herd started to grow nervous, backing away slightly as they were noticed, save for the earthie who puffed up his cheeks before walking closer and brazenly making demands.
“Dummeh hoomin!!! Fwuffies heaw bout’ nummies pwace!!! Dis am smarty’s wand nao!!! Gib fwuffies nummies!!!”
“Oh?! Hello there…Wasn’t expecting any more fluffies so soon…Well, I have plenty of food for all of you around back…”
Walking around the house, the tall man beckoned the fluffies to follow, with the smarty looking back to his herd, smiling as he nodded to them before following the friendly man. But as they passed the trees and found their way into the backyard, they all were stunned as they saw row apon row of sharpened sticks that dotted the ground, many of which had fluffies violently impaled through them. It was a gristly sight, their dead eyes staring off at nothing as their mouths were opened in an eternal, silent scream. Standing in the middle of the hanging dead was the tall man, who pulled his keys from his pocket and clicked a button, triggering his front gate to shut. Silent from the sheer terror of the dead fluffies, it wasn’t until the man reached down and grabbed the unicorn that the herd was shaken back to reality, seeing him grip her by her haunches and her scruff with practiced hands as he worked the nearest pole through her anus and out her mouth, ending her agonized scream.
“*SCREEEEE…”
Now in a frenzy, the herd ran about, many fleeing back to the entrance only to find that the gate was now sealed. Taking his time, the tall man seemingly made a game of it, approaching the fluffies one by one and catching them, each sharing the same fate as the pink unicorn. Whether by choice or by fate, all that was left was the red smarty, who was still at the gate, his hooves now bloody from scratching hopelessly at the bars. Seeing the man, he turned to run, only to feel his hand grasp the nape of his neck firmly and snatch him into the air.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! NUUUUUUU!!! WET GU!!! WET GU!!!”
Chuckling slightly, the man took his time walking back to the pikes, clearly pleased with himself.
“Gotta thank you, little guy…Neighborhoods been overrun with fluffies recently and the government pays me a pretty penny for every corpse I send their way. Course’ I make my own fun out of it…”
Barely able to comprehend what the scary man was even saying to him, the smarty’s attention shifted to his poor herd, the impaled fluffs now within sight as he voided himself, knowing he was next.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…Hewd gown foweba sweepies…an’ smawty gu foweba sweepies tu…*huuu…huuu…huuu…”
Hearing the earthie’s lament, the man shook his head, taking the fluff to a nearby stick and holding him upright so he was face to face with the pink unicorn.
“She ain’t dead just yet…Although I’m sure she wishes she were right about now…”
His eyes widening, the earthie could see that it was true. Despite the cruel and sharpened wood that had been run through her entire body, the unicorn was somehow still alive, her bloodshot gaze meeting his as her body shifted and winced, trying to scream but muted by the pike that protruded from her maw.
“…Takes you suckers a long time to die this way…”
Possession
“*chirp…*chirp…hewp!!! mu’mah!!! *chirp…*chirp…sabe ba’beh!!!”
Dangling from the black earthie’s hoof, the tiny foal shrieked and flailed about, trying to free itself from the cruel stranger. Calling for it’s mother by instinct, it was either unaware or too frightened to realize that the mare had been slain by the invading earthie, her body already growing cold in the alleyway. With all of it’s siblings already trampled to death while the cruel fluff had killed her, clinging to her fluff even as he had stomped her again and again, save for the lone purple foal, who had fallen free in the confusion. Only once the earthie had finished his gristly task, claiming the nearby nest as his own, did he hear the foal peeping, lifting it up despite it’s vocal protests.
“Wast widdew babbeh am nummie babbeh nao…”
With a sinister grin, the earthie, opened his maw and bit down on the foal’s soft body, breaking his ribs with an audible crunch as the tiny fluff’s legs kicked reflexively before finally going limp. Finishing his ghastly meal with a final bit, the black earthie smiled to himself, blood dripping down his maw as he waddled over to his new home. While seemingly not much, a few cardboard boxes and some old discarded clothes, it was quite a find for a feral fluffy. Merrily rearranging the piles of rags and garments, the black earthie plopped down comfortably, content with his cozy, makeshift bed.
“Fwuffy wuv nyu nestie…dummeh mawe an’ babbehs nu desewb nestie wike dis…”
Exhausted from his ordeal, he closed his eyes and decided on a small nap, with the unfortunate foal having already eliminated his need for an afternoon meal. Quickly dozing off, the earthie would have slept on uninterrupted if not for being shocked awake by a sudden voice.
“*chirp…*chirp…meen’e!!! meen’e fwuff’ee gib ba’beh huwt’ees!!!”
Jumping to his feet, the earthie glanced about the nest, poised to run as he tried in vain to find whoever had called out to him.
“Hewwo?! Hu am maek’n mean tawkies tu fwuffy?! Fwuffy nu scawed of yu…”
Met with nothing but silence, the earthie snorted slightly, satisfied that whoever it had been was too frightened to stick around. Too ill at ease to slumber again, he decided that he might try and find something to eat, already hungry due to the small size of his last meal. Leaving the nest and walking past the alleyway, the earthie made his way to a nearby dumpster he frequented. Old and rusted out the back, he could always count on a decent find. Now in the open, he would have to make a slight trek to get to it, but wasn’t overly concerned. Experience had taught him what many fluffies died long before learning. Watch the roads carefully, never draw the attention of humans, and chase off any other fluffies that want what’s yours. That was a crucial lesson that others of his kind always struggled with especially, the earthie sporting a mirthless smile as he thought on the mare and her foals.
Nearing the street, the earthie could already hear the approaching traffic. Hiding under a nearby bench, he waited until the cars had passed before ambling into the street. Moving swiftly, at least by fluffy standards, he made it to the center of the road before he suddenly found himself stopping dead in his tracks.
“Wat?! Weggies?! Wai weggies nu wisten tu fwuffy?!”
Grunting with effort as he tried to get to the alleyway that was just in sight, he found his body slowly turning around, even as he heard the telltale sounds of a car coming. Try as he might, the earthie found that his legs ignored all his efforts, slowly walking him back to the other side of the road, with a truck fast approaching.
“Nu!!! Weggies nu gu day way’!!! Vwoom-vwoom munstah come’n dat way’!!! NUUUUUUU!!!”
At the last second , he felt his legs go limp, the terrified fluffy screaming as he tried to close the gap to the safety of the walkway. Barely escaping the oncoming car, his eyes went wild as he felt the tire shred and tear away his tail.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!!”
Pulling himself along the road by his hooves, the earthie made it to safety, gasping and wheezing from the effort and the awful pain in his rump. Turning around, he could see that nothing of his tail remained, save for a bloody stump and a trail of blood where his flesh had been mangled in the street.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…Fwuffy’s taiw gown…su huwties…nu wike…”
Even as he whimpered and mewled over his lost tail, his eyes went wide suddenly, his head jerking to the side as he spoke aloud, but with a softer voice that was clearly not his own.
“gud! *chirp…*chirp… meen’ee fwuff’ee huwt ba’beh! *chirp…*chirp…git mowe huwt’ees soon!”
Gasping as his head untensed, he gazed around anxiously, almost unable to believe that the voice had come from him, let alone that is sounded like the foal he had eaten only hours ago. Trying his best to shake it off, the earthie started making his way to the dumpster, taking the long way round this time. By the time he made it to the alleyway behind the old restaurant, he had almost forgotten what had happened to him, chalking it up to the stress of almost being hit by a car and the loss of his tail which still stung with ever step. His favored meal spot now only moments away, and the round about trip leaving the fluffy famished, all he could think about was filling his belly and returning to his new home.
Working his way through the hole in the back of the dumpster, the earthie was careful to avoid the glass and broken bottles that frequented the refuse bin, making his way to the side that was half eaten burgers and discarded fries. Finding a decent pile of foodstuffs, the earthie was about to dig in, reaching his head down when he abruptly stopped, his legs slowly walking him back to the side with the shattered bottles.
“Nu weggies! Nu gu obah deww!”
Wincing as he felt the shards of glass tear into the soft flesh of his hooves, the earthie struggled, even as he saw the mass of broken bottles, his head leaning over as he tried his best to turn his head.
“NUUUUUUU!!! P’WEASE NU!!! STAHP!!!”
“*chirp…*chirp…ba’ fwuff’ee nu git gud num’ees…onwy ba’ num’ees!”
Before he could speak again, desperate to change the disembodied foal’s mind, he felt as his maw plunged into the pile, his skin tearing as he took in mouthfuls of the glass. Chewing it slowly as his eyes teared up, he screamed as he swallowed the bloodied lump, trying to shake his head as it lurched forward for another bite.