A/N: hey all, I’m not dead, the pandemic’s just got hands is all. figured I’d give this one a rewrite and re-upload since the old stuff is hard to find now. hope you enjoy the re-write.
The Library of Catharsis
Book One
The Ballad of Stormy
The sun rose on the small town of Rosedale. The warm glow crept over the identical suburban houses, the McMansions behind a tasteful brick fence to keep the poors out, the schools and parks, and finally, upon the FluffMart Shopping Complex. Inside, many different workers were scuttling around, getting things ready to start operation for the day, night shift switching for day shift. The FluffMart complex was the largest building in town, and also not-so-coincidentally where most of the people worked. Before Hasbio (formerly Hasbro) had genetically created the small, brightly colored horse-like beings now known as “fluffies” and loosed them like a plague upon the world, this had been a mining town, and then when the mines dried up, a farming town. Now, its life blood was fluffies. Easy to raise, in high demand around the country, the people of Rosedale lived and breathed the little creatures. Their fluffies were sold mostly to tourists- people passing through the town that was advertised on billboards on the highway as the “Fluffy Capital” of the state.
The complex itself was sectioned into many parts- the breeding facilities, the main storefronts and adoption areas, and a massive warehouse that was packed full of the newest, most expensive FluffMart brand items. The adoption agency was bright, with primary colors and pastel touches here and there. These colors were chosen not only to make the fluffy merchandise happy and easier to sell, but also to attract the eye of those passing by- the adoption agency, much like the FluffMart branded store across from it- was the first thing that people passed on their way into the complex.
Unlike standalone FluffMart locations, this was only for the adoption of fluffies. The fluffies themselves were seperated by color, sex, and age, and lived in pens- the walls of which were clear (but brightly colored) plexiglass. In one of these pens was a small, cheerful little fluffy named Stormy. Stormy was named such because of her unique storm-gray fur, with white dappling across her haunches and back. She had bright, blue eyes and a white mane and tail that waved prettily- something she was quite proud of. She lived a quite cushy life in the Fluffmart thus far- she had been carefully raised by specially-trained Nanny Fluffs, who had taught her good manners, how to make good poopies, how to smile and dance so that she could find a New Mumma or Daddy someday- all the most important lessons for a fluffy to have.
Stormy’s most favorite things in the world were hugs, playing ball, and flirting with the cute stallions in the next pen over. Stormy woke today to her friend Sunshine shaking her awake for breakfast. Sunshine was a soft pastel yellow pegasus with cream-colored mane and tail, and bright green eyes. She shook Stormy awake gently, smiling. “Wake up, siwwy! It am kibbwe time!” Stormy got to her hooves and stretched, before following Sunshine over to one of the many bowls now being filled by one of the many FluffMart employees. They both smiled and said “fank you fow kibbwe!” and tucked in- they were polite little mares. Once their tummies were full, they both made their way to a litterbox and made good poopies. They had to hurry up a bit, though- having gotten done filling the bowls of food, the employee was now beginning the odorous task of cleaning the litter boxes.
Sunshine gave Stormy a little friendly nudge with her wing, giggling. “Hey Stowmy, wet’s go pway wif stawwions!” They giggled together- they couldn’t really play with the stallions, of course- the plaxiglass wall, while only approximately knee-high on a human and easily climbable, might as well have been the great wall of China to the fluffies- their tiny pudgy bodies were not athletic enough to jump over the walls, and their leathery hooves found no purchase against the smooth plexiglass. However, the two fillies made their way to the wall of the pen that bordered their pen from the young colts. Once there, they batted their eyes and giggled at the colts on the other side, who would puff out their chests and play fight to show who was tougher, or race to show who was faster- all the fluffy foals were unneutered up to the point of sale, as some folks preferred to buy breeding stock from their stores.
The young FluffMart employee’s name was Ryan. He was fairly new to the job- he used to work at the town’s only Taco Bell, but that had closed down a while ago, and so now he was here. He was still learning the ropes, but had done pretty good so far- that was the whole reason he was allowed to do this section. This section’s pens were for more higher-end fluffies- ones with unique patterns or colors. No alicorns in these pens- those were kept in another special area you needed a key-code to get into. But these fluffies were fairly expensive- roughly 50-100$ a pop. He was careful moving around the pen, to avoid stepping on any of the tiny, chihuahua-sized fluffies as he went about his business scooping the litter, pouring in the new, and taking a moment to scratch behind the ears of a couple of particularly cute fluffies before moving his equipment into the colt’s pen. However, Ryan was a new employee, and he hadn’t learned the most important rule- Never underestimate how much trouble fluffies could get into. He’d placed the box of FluffMart brand litter close to the fence, and he turned his back on it as he began to scoop the litter pans.
In the colt’s pen, a pure white unicorn stallion sat on the other side of the pen wall and plotted. Snowball- also known as “little shithead” out of range of customer hearing- was a smarty. It was his mission of life as of lately to figure out a way to get over the wall and to the pretty fillies on the other side. Once he’d done that, he was going to enf all the fillies, make his own herd, and take over the store! They would give the worst sorry-hoofsies to the FluffMart employees and make them give them skettis and toys forever! It hadn’t escaped his notice that Ryan had placed the box close to the wall. He crept over, climbing on top of the box with some difficulty. He glanced over to make sure that Ryan still had his back turned- he did. And so Snowball leapt into action, and into the pen next door.
Stormy and Sunshine gasped! Snowball looked at them confidently, sticking out his chest. “Pwetty mawes am Snowbaww’s speciaw-fwiends nao!” He whipped around behind Stormy before she could even reply- he had waited forever for this moment, and he wasted no time- he had to enf as many mares as possible! And so he mounted her- Stormy wriggled uncomfortably beneath him- special huggies were not as good as the show "Babbehs! Babbehs! had made them out to be. Snowball huffed on top of her for only a few moments, and she wasn’t actually sure if he was actually giving her special huggies or not, but then he let out a grunt and she felt something warm flood her. She knew instinctually that she’d been successfully bred. She felt so happy, she didn’t even mind that Snowball immediately mounted Sunshine. She had originally assumed that if someone was her special friend, that they were ONLY her special friend, but she was so happy that she was going to have babbehs that she didn’t care. She plopped her haunches on the bottom of the pen, wiping away the evidence of what had happened as she began to dance happily, waving her front hooves back and forth.
Ryan finished scooping the litterboxes- why were the stallions and colts always so much messier than the fillies and mares? And turned to fill the litter. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, but Snowball currently humping Sunshine like his life depended on it certainly helped. He panicked, grabbing both Snowball and Sunshine by their scruffs and pulling them apart- too late, and he got fluffy spooge on his hand for his efforts. He let out an angry hiss- “Oh god DAMN it, you little shit!” He was in so much shit- not only had he let a colt into the filly pen, but the little bastard had managed to knock up one of them! Snowball wiggled wildly, flailing his legs and puffing out his cheeks as he tried to intimidate Ryan. “BAD UPSIES! DUMMEH PUT SNOWBAWW DOWN NAO! SNOWBAWW GON ENF MAWES AND MAKE HEWD AND-” Ryan shook him hard, making the colt bite his tongue- he quickly kicked the box of litter away from the wall of the pen to prevent further damages and went to go find his supervisor, taking the two troublemakers with him.
Stormy shivered and whimpered, her tail between her legs. The Nice Mister (all fluffies referred to the various FluffMart employees as such) had said a BAD WORD, and he had also taken her new special friend AND her best friend away! She heard him say something about sorry boxes as he walked away as well, and the horror of the idea shook her to her core- she was glad she’d already gone poopies earlier. She was terrified of the dark- a common trait among fluffies- and she knew that the sorry box was a small, dark box that naughty fluffies went in until they were good fluffies again. She had never actually been exposed to the dark- the facility itself was always somewhat lit- and as a result was even more terrified of the thought of the dark than the actual dark itself. She was afraid that if she went into the sorry box, a monster living in the darkness would num her, and she’d be no more!
Sunshine didn’t return until two bright-times later, and when she was lowered into the pen, her facial fluff was matted with tears and snot. Stormy, relieved to see her friend safe and sound, ran up to give her a hug. “Hewwo, Sunshine!” Sunshine didn’t hug her back, shaking her off and pushing her away before blowing a raspberry at her. “Nu hug, dummeh!” Stormy was confused, and reached out again for another hug- hugs fixed everything, just like babbehs! Sunshine hit her on the nose, backing away from her. “Nu! Nu hug, stoopie Stowmy! Hatechu!” Stormy plopped down on her haunches, rubbing her poor nose as her eyes filled with tears- “Why mean tu Stowmy?” Sunshine stomped her hoovesies angrily, her cheeks puffed out. “Why yu nu get in twoubwe? Yu du speciaw huggies tu!” Stormy’s eyes went wide, and she looked frantically around in case any FluffMart employees had heard her. “Nuuu! Shhh! Pwease be quiet, Sunshine! Nu wan sowwy boxxie!” Sunshine’s eyes narrowed, and a grin spread over her face- she took in a big breath to yell-
Karen sneered over the pens. They definitely weren’t super special, but it was trendy right now to adopt rescue fluffies, and the local shelter had had plenty of fluffies to choose from, but they had all been below her. They’d been desperate, begging her to take them home, crying when she passed them. They had also been mostly ugly colors, or were from the streets, or from abusers who made them ugly and traumatized- all things that Karen wanted nothing to do with. She didn’t want a damaged fluffy- and she definitely didn’t want an ugly one! She needed something cute and obedient, that would get her a lot of likes. Her eyes fell upon two mares- one yellow, one grey. She picked up the grey one, ignoring the “please do not pick up Fluffies” signs. She coo’d at the little mare, who looked up at her with wide, gleaming blue eyes. She was adorable, with little white dapples all over her flanks and back. She looked up as a FluffMart employee (his name tag, which she didn’t read, said Randy) hurried over to her- she ignored whatever it was he was saying to her and showed him the fluffy she’d picked. “This one, please. And I’ll need to get some supplies after.” The young man went oddly red in the face for a moment, then smiled and nodded, escorting her to the front to pay.
Stormy couldn’t believe her luck! She had nearly made bad poopies when she’d been suddenly lifted, fearful that she’d been discovered and that the sorry box awaited her, but instead she’d looked up to see a nice lady smiling at her, and then the lady said she was her New Mummy! Stormy looked back at Sunshine in the pen, who looked after her, mouth agape. Stormy stuck her tongue out at her. That’d show Sunshine! Not only did Stormy get a new home, but she’d be able to surprise her new mumma with her own babbehs soon! She sang happily as she was placed into a special carrier (it was made of clear plexiglass with small holes, a padded but easily cleanable bottom, and had an attachment so it could be used as a carseat), clapping her hoovsies together and making up an impromptu song about how happy she was to have a new mumma of her very own. Her new mumma coo’d at her, pointing a funny square at her from a bunch of different ways. Then, her new mumma took her further back into the complex, where they bought many things- including new toys and nummies just for Stormy! She was so happy.
She was so happy, in fact, that it completely slipped her mind to tell her new mumma that she was herself pregnant. Instead, her tiny mind was filled to bursting as she was placed into her own special room that was JUST hers! It was so big- bigger than both the fillie’s and stallion’s pens combined! It was painted in tasteful pastels, with a special nightlight that played calming music and lit the room at night, keeping it from getting too dark. There was a bowl just for her filled with nummies better than anything she’d ever had before! (Karen was the sort of woman to buy the most expensive option for anything, as a show of status, and so had gotten top of the line everything for her new pet). She zoomed around her new room, giggling wildly. This was the best day ever! It had started out with hurties, but now everything was okay again. Better than okay! She rolled one of the many colorful balls that her Mommy (Karen had told her to only call her Mommy from now on, hating the word “mummah”) had bought for her. Mommy laughed and pointed the square at her a bunch, then picked her up and put her in her lap, and showed Stormy the square.
It was making pictures of Stormy! She clapped, ecstatic. Mommy was magic! She could put her on the little square like they did with fluffies on the TV! Mommy smiled at her, and gave her a little scritch under her chin. “Good girl, Stormy-” (Karen was not a creative woman and had simply opted to keep the name that Stormy had been assigned at Fluffmart) “Look, Mommy’s going to take pictures with you!” She poked the magic square, and it changed to show Stormy and her Mommy! Stormy laughed, and then jumped as the Stormy in the square moved with her. She cautiously waved a little hoof. The Stormy in the phone waved a hoof. Stormy gasped, then did it again- the Square-Stormy did it, too! Mommy laughed at her, giving her a little kiss on the head. She pressed a button, and the square made a clicking sound and for a second there was a picture of Stormy and her Mommy, and then she did it again, and again, and again…
It was a little while before Mommy put Stormy down again- she hurried over to the litterbox and squatted, letting out a little sigh of relief as she emptied herself. She had really needed to go potty when Mommy was holding her, but when she told Mommy she had said “just a few more pictures” for a few times before she finally let Stormy go- Stormy was worried she’d make bad poopies on her new Mommy, it was so close! She looked up to see Mommy pointing the square at her again, and she squirmed, hurriedly kicking sand over her mess. She liked taking pictures with Mommy, but she wished Mommy wouldn’t take pictures of her going poopie- she was a little shy about that for some reason. Still, her Mommy loved her, and had brought her home to this amazing safe room, so she couldn’t complain. She climbed out of the litterbox and made her way back to Mommy, plopping down on her haunches and raising her front legs up- “Wan upsies pwease, Mommy!” Mommy smiled and pet her head, but didn’t pick her up. “Sorry Stormy, but Mommy has to go make dinner. I’ll be back later, okay?” Stormy’s face fell, but she had been taught good manners- “Otay, Mommy. Stowmy wuv yu!” Mommy coo’d at her and gave her another couple scritches under her chin. “I love you too, sweetie.” With that, she turned and left, closing the saferoom door behind her.
Stormy was alone for the first time in her life. She looked around the room, which now felt even bigger without Mommy in it. She had never once been alone at the FluffMart- if she wasn’t with other fluffies, she was in the presence of a FluffMart employee. She’d never had to play by herself, or spend any time with her thoughts. And now, here she was. She tried playing- kicking the balls around was fun, but it would be more fun if someone kicked them back. She decided to make a block tower- she carefully picked up each block in her delicate little hooves and placed it with as much precision and patience as a fluffy could- one block… two blocks… three blocks… she eventually had made a tower slightly larger than herself, and at last she teetered precariously on her hind legs, the block clutched in both hooves and her tongue stuck out in concentration. She placed the block so carefully- the tower wobbled, but held. She plopped down on her haunches and cheered! This was the tallest block tower she’d ever made! She went to call for Sunshine to come look, but then she remembered. She looked around the expanse of her room, and felt tiny and alone. She sighed, pushing the tower over. She hoped Mommy would be back soon, she was lonely.
Karen smiled as she carefully edited the photos she’d taken before uploading them. She’d removed all possible trace that Stormy had been bought at FluffMart, and had spun a story that she’d been found at the shelter- but wasn’t she so brave and so smart just look! Karen had already litter trained her in a day! #Shelter #adoptdontshop #blessed #fluffymom #fluffymommy- as many fucking hashtags as she could slap on the post. She smiled and sipped her wine as she refreshed the page and saw likes already pouring in. She decided to finish the bottle of wine, maybe take a nice hot bubble bath. She deserved it. Later, she opened the door to the saferoom to turn off the light, and Stormy let out a happy cheer and ran to her- she picked her new pet up and gave her a little kiss, then set her down and turned off the light. “Goodnight, Stormy.” She closed the door on the little fluffy, not noticing the sad, scared look on her delicate features. She went to bed.
Stormy didn’t sleep at all that first night- while the night light did light up the room and kept it from being completely dark, it wasn’t nearly as bright as the flourescent lighting that had always been on in the fluffy pens- even at night, the bulbs had merely been switched for smaller, slightly dimmer ones- but still more than bright to read and see by, to help the night shift employees. This safe room at night was much, much darker! She huddled by the nightlight, her blue eyes peering into the shadowy corners, where she thought she kept seeing things. She didn’t even bother to try to sleep in her bed- it was near one of those shadowy, dark corners, away from the safety of the nightlight. She shivered again- she missed the warmth of the fluffpile, the reassuring noises of other fluffies sleeping, or talking quietly, or rustling around as they played or did poopies. It was very quiet with just her. She sniffled. She also missed Sunshine, even though she had been mean to her- and she wondered where Snowball had been taken- he had never come back at all, unlike Sunshine. She rubbed her belly with her hoovesies. At least she had her tummy-babbehs! She sang softly to them, to comfort them in the dark.
When Mommy opened the door to turn on the light, Stormy let out a sigh of relief. She was finally safe! Mommy came in, carrying a little tin, which she opened and poured into the pretty pink ceramic food bowl. Stormy’s tired, droopy eyes snapped fully open- she knew that smell instinctively! Skettis! She ran over to the bowl, doing a happy dance for Mommy. “Skettis! Fank yu Mommy! Fank yu! Stowmy wuv yu!” Mommy smiled and pet her head, then pointed the square at her again. “Of course, baby- now, eat up, okay? Mommy wants to get pictures of you enjoying a treat.” Stormy didn’t need further direction- she took her first bite and let out a small whinny of joy- this tasted better than any nummies ever had ever! She savoured each bite, and when she was done, snuffled around the bowl, licking up any tiny bit of sauce she could find. Finished at last, she plopped down and let out a satisfied sigh. She could feel her tummy- and by extension, her tummy-babbehs!- doing a happy dance. Mommy gave her another pat on the head, and then wiped her face with a nice-smelling thing. Stormy let out a little trill of happiness- she was so glad Mommy was back! She could play with her, and they would have so much fun!
Karen smiled as she recorded the little fluffy digging into the FluffMart™ brand Skettis Wet Food, and then wiping down her sauce-covered face with a wet wipe. This would get so many goddamn likes. Sandra at her water aerobics class would be so fucking jealous! Stormy was babbling happily to her (“Fank yu fow bestest skettis fow tummy-babbehs!”), although Karen wasn’t listening. She nodded and smiled, “Uhhuh, that’s nice, Stormy. Now, Mommy wants to play a new game, okay?” Stormy clapped her hoovesies excitedly- new game! “Otay, Mommy! Stowmy wuv nyu gamesie!” Karen stood and walked to a small pink and white dresser that was in the safe room- it held things like Stormy’s extra toys, air freshener, and dozens of outfits tailor-made to fit fluffies. She pulled out a pastel pink dress with tons of ribbons and frills, and turned to show Stormy. “Look, Stormy! Mommy’s going to play dress up with you and take pictures, okay? All you have to do is be cute, and you’re a pro at that!” Stormy jumped up and down and did that adorable little dance she did- she was gonna get Karen so many fucking likes- maybe she’d even go viral!
Stormy didn’t really understand what playing dress up was, but Mommy said she was going to be good at it, so Stormy was happy to try! Mommy started to put the pretty pink thing on her- Stormy tried very hard not to squirm, but it was a little itchy. “Hold still, Stormy.” Stormy tried, letting Mommy put the itchy pink thing on her. Finally, Mommy showed her the magic square, and Stormy gasped! She was wearing the prettiest pink dressie! She giggled and turned back and forth, admiring herself. It was very itchy, but it made her look so pretty! Mommy turned the square back around, to Stormy’s disappointment, but then Mommy said she’d show her the pictures again later. “Okay, Stormy, Mommy wants you to do a little dance for me, okay?” Stormy puffed out her chest proudly- of course she could do a little dance! She was the best dancy fluffy ever! She pranced to and fro, stomped her little hooves, sat on her haunches and waved her front legs around- every dance move in a fluffy’s arsenal, she did. Finally, she stopped, panting softly. Momma smiled at her, looking up from the little magic square and directly at Stormy. “Good girl! Alright, baby, let me take the dress off and put it away so it doesn’t get dirty, then I’ll show you the pictures!”
Stormy sat patiently as Mommy removed the itchy dress- Stormy liked being Mommy’s “pretty good girl” but she also hated the itch. She shook herself vigorously once it was removed, itching all the places that it had rubbed her fur the wrong way. Mommy put the dress away in the big box and was coming back then the magic square played a song! Stormy gasped and clapped- she was too tired to dance again so soon, but the song was fun! Mommy poked the square and held it up to her ear- “Hello, Laura! No, I’m not busy-” she walked past Stormy and left the room without saying goodbye, simply closing the door behind her. Stormy looked after her, lost. Wait- mommy just left? But she was gonna show Stormy the pretty pictures she took! Stormy huffed and scuffed her hooves on the soft carpet. She was alone again. Well, not completely. She rubbed her tummy. She knew she wouldn’t feel her babbehs move for a while yet, but she knew they were in there. That was enough.
A few weeks had passed since Karen had brought Stormy home, and much like special huggies, Stormy was beginning to think that maybe having a new Mommy wasn’t as good as everyone made it seem to be. She didn’t want for anything material- her food bowl was always full of kibble, and sometimes she would get wet food as a special treat! She had many toys, stuffed animals, and she had dragged her bed over to the nightlight so she could even sleep in her warm, soft bed. All the same, she was very, very lonely. Mommy did come in at least twice a day, but she never really looked at Stormy- she only watched her magic square. At first, Stormy had thought that the magic square was fun, but now she wished the dummy thing would disappear- she wished Mommy would look at her without the square. She liked playing dress up best- Mommy would put the dressies on her, and while they were very uncomfortable and itchy, it meant that afterward she would brush Stormy’s fur so it shone pretty in the light again and laid flat. Sometimes, she would point the magic square at the both of them, while she held and hugged Stormy. That was the very best- Stormy was desperate for any sort of affection, and that was the closest that Karen gave to her. Karen’s children had long since grown up and moved away, and her husband despised fluffies, and so Stormy had never met the man.
Still, at least she had her tummy-babbehs. She was so excited to meet them- she could feel them getting bigger and bigger with each day. She had to go pee pee more often, and she ate more kibbles. Her tummy was also getting bigger and bigger- so much so that finally, four and a half weeks later, Karen noticed that something was off about Stormy. She had been trying to put Stormy into a new pastel purple dress when the damn thing stuck just above her belly. Karen gave it another tug- maybe she’d just gotten the wrong size? But Stormy’s tummy wasn’t just fatty- it was firm, filled with the tiny lives of her foals inside of her. Karen, however, merely frowned and tugged again. Stormy let out a little yelp- “Owies! Why huwties?”- but the dress refused to budge. Frustrated, Karen roughly pulled it off of Stormy, who let out another pathetic whine as her fur was roughly tugged and pulled. Karen read the tag- size medium- she’d gotten one size larger because Stormy was still growing. She looked at Stormy with narrowed eyes.
Stormy sniffled, rubbing the places where Mommy had tugged her fur and hurt her. “Huuuu! Why huwties Stowmy? Am gud fwuffy.” She felt a little better when Mommy picked her up and looked at her, at least until she saw Mommy’s face. She was looking at her directly, but her eyes were narrowed and her lips were pursed in a frown. Stormy’s ears went back- something was wrong. Karen looked her carefully up and down, and then let out a huff of frustration, setting Stormy back on the floor before storming out of the safe room. Stormy let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, shaky and quiet. She didn’t like Scary Mommy. She hugged her belly for comfort, rubbing her soft, leathery hooves over her soft fluff. “Mummah wuv babbehs, babbehs wuv mummah…” she sang softly to herself, afraid to make too much noise. She didn’t know why Mommy was mad, but it felt dangerous- like sorry box dangerous. She decided to lay on her bed and not bother Mommy with noises until Scary Mommy turned back into Magic Square Mommy. Magic Square Mommy made her feel saddies in her heart, but at least it wasn’t scary.
Karen stormed to the closet in the hall and opened it, pulling out the bag of FluffMart brand Kibble, a can of FluffMart brand Skettis Wet Food, and read the ingredients furiously. She looked the packages all over, but her rage was unsatisfied. The stupid employee at the FluffMart must have sold her the wrong kind of food and made her fluffy fat! She knew fluffies grew, but certainly NOT just in their middles! She huffed, grabbing her purse and keys. She was going to go give that idiot a peice of her mind and get diet food for Stormy- she was NOT going to have a fat fluffy! After going to the FluffMart, screaming at the employee and the manager there, she returned with diet kibble, diet wet food, and a scale. She went into the saferoom, filling Stormy’s bowl before leaving, closing the door behind her with a sharp snap. She was pissed- how was she supposed to one-up that bitch Sandra with a fat fucking fluffy?
Stormy looked up hopefully when Mommy came back, but she still had the Scary Mommy face on, so she flattened herself to the bed as much as she could, tucking her tail between her legs. She shivered, and let out a startled yelp when Mommy closed the door and made a scary noise. Her butthole puckered and she nearly made bad poopies, but she managed to waddle quickly to the litterbox and relieve herself. She let out a sigh and then winced as her tummy-babbehs let her know it was time to num food. She went to her food bowl, taking a big bite- and spit it out. “BLEGH! Icky! Nu taste nicesies!” She looked at the door- closed- and she was afraid of calling Mommy to tell her about the bad nummies. Her tummy growled and her babbehs kicked. “Huuuuu… otay… wiww num fow babbehs… Mummah wuv you…” She ate the kibble, grimacing and scrunching her little nose in disgust. Finally, the bowl was empty and she was ready to have a little nap. She laid down, but she had barely fallen into dreamland when her tummy growled and began to hurt. The new kibble was perfectly formulated for a fluffy that was fat and needed to lose weight- it had all the nutrients needed, with half the calories. For a pregnant fluffy, it wasn’t nearly enough.
It was another dark time and Stormy lay awake, her eyes unfocused and staring into the middle distance, occassionally flicking to the empty bowl of food. She gobbled up the food greedily every time Mommy filled the bowl, but it was never enough. It had been a week since the failed dress up attempt and switch to diet kibble. Stormy hadn’t lost any weight, but she hadn’t gained any either. She looked like a slightly chubby fluffy, instead of the immobile, plush ball that a healthy pregnant mare was. Her tummy rumbled and she winced again. She knew it would be until bright time and two episodes of “Babbehs! Babbehs!” had finished before Mommy would be in to give her nummies. She was so hungry. She rubbed her tummy to comfort her babbehs as they kicked and hurt her. “Huuuuu! Pwease, babbehs, mummah nu hav nummies. Pwease wet mummah sweepies!” She sobbed as another ripple of pain shot through her, and then cried out as a bright supernova of agony hit her. “BIGGEST POOPIES!” and she felt something slide out of her- oh no! She had made bad poopies! She was about to turn to figure out how to hide it, but then another jagged jolt of pain ripped through her, and she panted, unable to even scream. “Haf, haf, haf- OWIES!” More pain, more plops- finally, it was over. She lay for a moment, panting, recovering her breath.
From behind her, she heard soft, strained peeping. She whipped around, newfound strength entering her- her babbehs! She instinctively began to lick them clean, not even caring about the taste. She carefully cleaned each one- four! Four whole babbehs, one for each of her leggies! One was a white earthie colt, two were white unicorn fillies, and one- she let out a soft, heartfelt and loving sigh when she saw it- a little grey earthie colt with the same storm grey fur with white dappling that she had. The Bestest Babbeh. She gently set them on her teats to suckle- Bestest babbeh first, of course. She didn’t have names for them yet- she would wait for Mommy to name them. She would be so happy! They were perfect- they were a little small, and smelled slightly funny (the malnutrition from the last week of her pregnancy had stunted them slightly), but they were beautiful, and they drank her milkies with strong, hungry mouths and chirped with healthy lungs and she loved them with her whole entire heart. She curled herself around them, cooing, singing them songs as she basked for the first time in unconditional love. She fell asleep like that, no longer bothered by her hungry tummy-hurties. Babbehs really did make everything better.
Karen’s shriek broke the morning calm, and Stormy immediately shot awake, narrowly avoiding crushing her babbehs. She stood protectively over them, looking frantically around for the danger- but there was no danger. Mommy was there, and Stormy was confused at the look on her face. “Wook, Mommy! Stowmy hav tummy-babbehs at wast!” She showed her sweet, small babbehs to her Mommy, expecting her Mommy to understand and smile- no. Her face turned into Scary Mommy face, and suddenly, from behind her, the saferoom door opened and a man that Stormy had never seen before came into the room. Was this Daddy? Did Stormy have a Daddy? The man had a scary look on his face, and Stormy decided that he wasn’t a Daddy she wanted. She crouched protectively over her babbehs. Something was wrong. “What the fuck, Karen?” The man’s voice was loud, and the bad words hurt her ears. “Huuu! Nu say bad wowdies! Bad fow babbehs tu heaw!” The man didn’t listen to Stormy’s plea, instead arguing with Mommy- “How the fuck did it shit out more?” Karen turned on her husband, screaming back.
Stormy cowered, holding her babbehs safely to her tummy. They peeped and chirped and squirmed in distress as the loud noises scared them, and Stormy tried to comfort them, but it was no use. The scary man left, not bothering to close the safe room door. Karen followed him out, and Stormy hesitated. She wanted to follow Mommy to try to exlain that babbehs were a good thing, and that they make everything better, but the scary man was out there. She trembled, hoping Mommy was chasing away the scary man, and that she’d be back soon. But the scary man came back first. He was carrying something that he threw roughly on the floor, and then he crouched and grabbed her suddenly, roughly by the scruff of the neck, picking her up. “OWIES! BAD UPSIES! NU HUWT MUMMAH! NEE’ TU TAKE CAWE OF BABBEHS!” He ignored her, except to give her a rough shake and plop her into what he had been carrying- a laundry basket. She tried in vain to jump out of it, to save her babbehs- but the scary man simply began to pick up her babbehs and set them into the basket, too. She hugged them to her, shivering. “Pwease, nice mistew, nu huwt Stowmy, am gud fwuffy-” He made a scary face at her and told her to “Shut up”, before lifting the basket. The sudden jolt combined with the scary situation made her make the first bad poopies of her life- all over the bottom of the basket. The scary man gave her hurties upside the head for that, along with saying bad words. “Goddamn it! This is why I didn’t want one of these fucking things, Karen!”
Mike, Karen’s husband, hauled the basket out to his entirely-too-large truck, ignorning Karen’s high pitched whining about how many likes the foals would get her. He put the basket in the bed of his truck, not wanting to get shit inside of the cab. He was going to go back to the fucking FluffMart and they were going to give him his money back and take these stupid fucking shitrats off his hands. He hadn’t even wanted the fucking things, but Karen had gotten even more insufferable since the kids went to college and then moved out, unable to stand her. He wished he could leave, sometimes, but he’d been stupid as a young man and now his finances were inextricably tied with Karen’s- if he left, she’d get half or more of everything, and he wasn’t about to give up his own joys in life just to get away from her harpy ass. So he’d finally reluctantly agreed that she could get ONE fucking fluffy, as long as he never had to see or smell or hear it, and now the fucking thing had shat out more of them.
In the back of the truck, the unsecured laundry basket slid across the truck bed at every turn, and Stormy wept as she desperately held onto her chirping, distressed foals- sometimes she would tumble over, falling into her own bad scaredy poopies, and that would make her cry harder. Eventually, the truck stopped, and the scary man came back. He let out a noise of disgust at her shit-covered form, and hauled them into the FluffMart. Stormy wiped the tears from her eyes, looking around- was the Scary Man taking them back to Stormy’s first home? She sort of hoped so- at least she would have her friends and her babbehs would be safer and away from the scary man- but then the man started yelling again, and Stormy cowered again. She didn’t understand the conversation the scary man and the FluffMart employee were having, but she hoped that it would be okay, and that the scary man would go away soon. She sniffled, hugging her babbehs for comfort. They peeped and clung to her chest and belly fur- they were afraid of the loud noises, the bad smell of scaredy poopies, and their mother’s distress.
After screaming at the employee, and two seperate managers, Mike finally admitted defeat. FluffMart corporate does not take any sort of return, and there was definitely no way they were taking in new fluffies that had an unknown pedigree. Mike hauled the laundry basket back to the truck, before sitting in the truck and putting his head in his hands. How’d he got to this point in his life? He hated the woman he was married to- they’d only gotten married because he’d been too stupid to keep it in his pants and got her pregnant. He loved his kids, but they wouldn’t come visit because they hated Karen as much as he did, and now he had shitrats in the back of his truck. He was not going to bring the fluffies back home, that much was for sure. He was not letting Karen win. Not this time. He looked in the rear view mirror at the tiny creature in his truck cab, now licking her foals clean of her own shit- he gagged. He would just… put her somewhere. He started the truck.
It was many forevers of sliding around the back of the truck, but Stormy had at least placed her babbehs on her back, bracing herself so they wouldn’t get jostled or covered in poopies again. She would have to try to protect her babbehs from the scary man- she would have to do the unthinkable- she would bite him! She would bite him and give him sorry poopies! She puffed her cheeks in determination. Finally, the truck stopped, and the scary man came around the back. He picked up the laundry basket, walking down the embankment of the small river that ran through the outskirts of the city, stopping in the shade of a young tree that was slightly set apart from the woods that bordered the suburbs of the city, and a little ways away from the river. He set the basket down, reaching in to grab Stormy. This was it, she had to protect her babbehs. She snapped at him, biting as hard as she could on the finger she had managed to catch- “SON OF A BITCH!” Mike yelped and shook his hand, detaching the shitrat from his hand and causing her to almost squash the foals on her back- but she balanced, merely plopping comically onto her haunches. “GO 'WAY! GO 'WAY BAD SCAWY MISTEW! NU HUWT BABBEHS!” The scary man let out a hissing breath, before he did, in fact, turn and walk back to his truck. Stormy let out a breath. She had scared him away! Now she just had to get out of this dummy box-
Mike returned to his truck, rifling around in the back seat before producing a length of nylon rope- it wasn’t heavy rope, it was just the sort he usually got for tying down his tent when he went camping or fishing, but it would do. He had originally planned on just setting the little shit down on the embankment and setting her free to survive or not in the wilderness, but then the little shit had bit him. The straw broke the camel’s back, and Mike was filled with a cruel, cold rage. He returned to the basket, the stupid shitrat hopping ineffectually at the side of the thing, and made a quick loop like the kind he used to do for his dogs (he’d had two beautiful rottweilers for many years, but once they had passed Karen refused to let him get a new one, saying their fur would ruin the furniture), and then quickly scruffed the mare. She flailed, screaming, not expecting him to return. He picked her up and hauled her to the tree, before looping one end of the rope around her neck, and the other, he tied to the tree. He secured the knots, and then stood up, looking at his handiwork. The dumb shit was puffed up at him, not noticing the leash around her neck or the fact that she was now trapped in a ten foot circle around the tree. He smiled and left, not bothering to grab the shit-filled laundry basket. Problem solved, and he was going to go home and have a beer.
The scary man left, taking the scary monster with him. Stormy looked around- she was alone except for her babbehs. She carefully removed them from her back, setting them on the soft green stuff, checking them over. Miraculously, none of them had been hurt during their ordeal. They were still a little dirty, but that was nothing some lickie-cleanies couldn’t fix. Her tummy growled- but first, she needed nummies. She hadn’t gotten breakfast this morning, and she hadn’t eaten since last night. She needed nummies to make milkies for her babbehs. She thought hard for a moment. She’d never had food that wasn’t kibbles or wet food. She would find a nice human, and then they would help her find Mommy, and then Mommy would give her nummies. She nodded, and then placed her babbehs on her back. “Otay, babbehs! Nu wowwies! Mummah wiww find Mommy and nummies!” She began to trot confidently away from the tree, before suddenly she gagged and gasped for air as something around her neck squeezed- she stumbled back, sitting with a heavy thud on her haunches. Her babbehs wailed in distress, and Stormy scrambled at her neck- her hooves found the leash. She took a few shaky, ragged breaths. “Haf, haf- dummy huwty stwing! Wet go of Stowmy!” She tried to pull it off, but her leathery hoofpads were too smooth to find purchase on the nylon rope- let alone able to untie the knot that Mike had tied. She huffed, standing and turning carefully. She saw the rope stretching between her and the tree, and she puffed up in anger. “Dummy twee! Wet go!” She bit the rope, but the rope was too thick to bite through, and so she gave up, sniffling.
“Huuuuu! Why twee nu wet Stowmy weave?” She rubbed her nose and itched where the rope rubbed at her fur. The peeping of her babbehs reminded her of the original task- find nummies. She walked the other way around the tree, watching the rope follow her. She stomped her hooves angrily. “Wet go! Wet go wite nao!” The rope, being inanimate, and the tree, having better things to do, ignored her. She sniffled again. She looked down at the grass, then sniffed it. It didn’t smell bad. She nibbled it- blegh! She spat it out, but the desperate peeping on her back forced her to take another bite- and another. She sniffled, eating the grass. It tasted bad, but it was the first bit of true nutrition and calories than she’d had in a long time, and before long, she was able to feed her foals. They drank greedily, hungry from their long ordeal and the stress. At last, their bellies full of milk, they burped and one by one fell asleep. Stormy looked down at her babbehs, asleep in her fur. She knew she would do whatever it took to protect them, and she would find a way to get back to Mommy, and then everything would be okay. The scary man had obviously taken her away from Mommy, and if she could just find her way home, then Mommy would put her back in the safe room, and take care of her babbehs, and then she would always have friends even when Mommy was just paying attention to the magic square! it was a foolproof plan.
She yawned, stomach full. But first, she needed to make a nest for her babbehs. She wandered around the tree, poking at the grass here and there until she found a small crook in the roots of the tree where the earth was particularly soft. She pulled up the grass nearby with her teeth, putting it on top, and at last, she laid down, sighing. She was very sleepy- she hadn’t gotten much sleep, and today had been very scary. The sun was slowly reaching the peak of the day, and the sunlight dappled down through the leaves and onto the small family in the roots of the tree, providing just enough warmth without cooking them in the summer heat. Stormy fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. The day went from noon to afternoon, and it wasn’t until the afternoon was slowly creeping to evening that Stormy woke up to the sound of her babbehs chirping for food. She smiled, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, confused for a moment, before remembering what had happened. She sighed, but set to work placing her foals one at a time on her teats- the Bestest Babbeh first, the one that looked just like her- and then placed them on her back. She stood and stretched, itching at the rope around her neck. It pulled at her fur worse than the dressies that her Mommy made her wear ever did, and she hated it. She ate some more grass and thought about how to get away from the rope. It followed her everywhere she went, and she couldn’t bite through it or run away from it- she didn’t want to repeat the horrible choking again- could she sneak away from it?
She carefully trotted around the tree, pretending to be looking for nummies- and then flattened herself to the ground, sliding on her belly away from the tree, her ears low- the rope went taut and she choked again. “GACK! HAF! Stoopie meanie wope!” She clapped her hoovesies over her mouth- she had said a bad word! She looked around frantically, but… no one was here. She paused, then giggled. “S…stoopie!” She whispered to herself, giddy with rebellion. She giggled again. Mommy wasn’t here to get mad at her, and the scary man wasn’t here either! Or a FluffMart employee to give her the sorry box or sorry stick! She smiled. At least she didn’t have to worry about that for right now!
She lost her smile as her butthole twitched- she really needed to do poopies. She looked around, but there wasn’t any litter boxes anywhere! She flattened her ears- she didn’t mind saying a naughty word when no one would hear her, but she had already made bad poopies, and it had ended horribly! Her tummy clenched and she gritted her teeth. She wandered as far away as she could get from the make-shift nest she’d made and squatted, relieving herself. She shuddered, but nothing bad happened. She sighed, wandering back to the nest she’d made. She pushed the grass around with her nose, trying to make it more comfortable. She scraped at the ground with her hooves- and a little bit came loose. It was soft, fluffy earth- she sniffed it. Mmmmmm! That smelled so nice! She dug more into the earth, making a small hollow between the roots, snuffling at the good smell of fresh earth.
She’d gotten startled once or twice by worms- she anxiously nudged them out of the nest- but in the end, she’d made a fairly good nest for a domestic fluffy. She pushed more grass into the nest, and lay down to feed her foals again, cooing at them. “It wiww be otay, babbehs. Mummah wuvs yu.” She sang in the off-tune, slightly endearing way of fluffies and small children, drifting off to sleep after her efforts. Afternoon became evening, and evening became night. The moon was only a small sliver in the sky, and while the stars shone brightly, it was nowhere near even the night light that Stormy had had in her safe room. When she woke in the night, her tummy rumbling, she opened her eyes to darkness. She let out a startled whinny, startling her foals, and she shushed them, afraid of what any noise might bring. She shivered- now that the heat from the day had dissipated, it was chilly- at least for a fluffy. The hollow she had dug helped slightly, but it was still quite a difference from the carefully climate controlled rooms she had lived in her whole life. She whimpered, holding her babbehs close. She needed to eat, and she needed to make poopies. She thought for a moment about eating the grass in the nestie, and making poopies in there, but she didn’t really want her nice new nestie smelling like poopies. She swallowed thickly, the rope around her neck pulling a small bit of her fur out.
She took a deep breath, and carefully loaded her babbehs onto her back- one, two, three, four. One for each leg. She carefully, slowly crept out of the burrow she’d made, stepping tenatively onto the cool grass. Everything looked much, much different and much, much scarier at night. The shadows in the small woods turned into deep pools of black, and the winding river turned into a wide crevasse of darkness- even the light filtering down through the leaves of the Sorry-Tree (as she now thought of it) was barely enough to illuminate the grass. She trembled with each step forward she took. She scuttled around the tree, squatting hurriedly. She relieved herself, and was about to stand and hurry back to the tree when a branch cracked in the distance. She panicked, darting forward as fast as she could, whipping quickly around the tree and diving into the burrow. She didn’t notice that when she had darted, one of the small, white unicorn fillies had fallen from her back, startled by the sudden movement and unable to hold on. She plummeted backwards, and was thankfully cushioned from the fall with the thick, plush grass.
Stormy shivered in the hollow. She felt better, and a little proud of herself. She had braved the darkness, and had made it! She nibbled quickly on a bit of grass just outside the burrow. As the adrenaline from the scare ebbed, Stormy found herself exhausted, and she snuggled up to rest before she needed to wake up to feed her foals again. At the edge of the circle, around the tree, the little filly in the grass peeped and writhed desperately. Where was mummah? Why was she so cold suddenly? Help! Help! Sadly, the wind picked up just then, rustling the leaves of the Sorry-Tree and covering up the quiet, strained peeps of the filly. A small stretch of grass away, however, there was something that didn’t need to hear to find the filly. The grass snake slithered silently through the grass, her tongue flickering in and out as she tracked the scent of food. She needed to eat well, because she was getting ready to lay a clutch of eggs- a small army of little snakes to take care of the local rodent population, preventing a mass outbreak of diseases. Her duty was important, and so she hunted. She caught onto the scent of something- small, warm, squirming. Food.
The little filly cried louder- where was mummah? Surely she’d hear her soon and come to rescue her! It was so cold! The little filly was blind- it would be a week or so yet before her eyes would open- and so she couldn’t see what it was that parted the grass and began to slowly get into position. The grass snake, not having any venom, knew she had to get the strike right in order to enjoy her meal- if she wasn’t quick enough, the small wriggling thing would either get away or alert its parents- and the grass snake needed to eat. Careful- careful- she struck, her fangs sinking deep into the soft, pliable flesh of her prey. She wrapped herself around it quickly, squeezing, holding it still so she could position herself to swallow. The little filly let out a pained peep as the snake’s fangs bit into her soft torso- she tried to push it away with her useless nubby limbs, but the snake was so much stronger than she was! The struggle was brief, and soon the little filly felt something covering her head, making it hard to breathe…
The snake swallowed, the little filly’s legs flailing uselessly as she was consumed head-first, still alive. Much easier than trying to hunt a rat or a frog, thought the snake. Her belly was full, however, and she wasn’t going to press her luck by trying to find and eat any other small creatures like this- a smart snake knows when to call it quits. She slithered away to her den, ready to do her duty and usher in the next generation of pest control. In the burrow under the Sorry-Tree, Stormy slept soundly. The wind and rustling leaves had covered the desperate pleas of her filly, and she was completely unaware that she’d lost a foal. Her three remaining foals huddled together on her back, snuggled together for warmth and safety. During the night, storm clouds gathered, and a gentle drizzle of rain pattered down. The leaves above protected them, and funneled the water into small downspouts- one of which was the laundry basket they had been brought in. Slowly, it filled with the tiniest puddle of water at the bottom, and then it washed away the shit there, and left a few sips of clean, clear water. A small blessing for the little family, who was about to learn even more how hard it is to survive.
Stormy woke shivering- her babbehs were lucky to be on her back, protected by the soft, thick fluff- the storm had abated by the time the first light of dawn began to kiss the sky, but it had left puddles, and being that she was a fluffy and therefore an idiot, she had dug her burrow down, rather than at a more even angle, leaving a small puddle of water to form in the bottom of what should have been a nice, safe burrow. Stormy sniffled, looking down at her beautiful fur, now matted and filthy with mud. She began to cry- really, truly cry. Great sobs shook her, causing small groggy peeps from her foals. “Huuuuuu! Stoopid meanie man! Why yu huwties Stowmy? Why take Stowmy fwom Mommy?” She threw a little tantrum, her hooves slapping against the mud and water, making her problem worse. A few drops of cold water landed on her foals on her back, and their startled peeps and wriggling finally knocked Stormy from her crying. She was trying to be the Bestest Mummah, so that when Mommy finally came and rescued her, she would be proud of her and give her and the babbehs skettis.
She scooted back away from the puddle and onto the small bit of dry in the burrow, before carefully taking her babbehs down to give them huggies and milkies. She had eaten more of the icky grassie nummies before bed last night. She fed Bestest Babbeh first- the one that looked just like her. Then whichever one she grabbed next- the little colt this time. They ate their fill while Stormy tried in vain to wipe the mud from her fur, only succeeding in smearing it in further. “Huuuuu! Nu feew pwetty…” She picked her bestest baby up when he detached from her nipple, giving him licky-cleanies to get rid of the mud and mess. Soon, he was gleaming, and she carefully placed him onto her back to prevent his fur from getting messy. She placed her filly onto her teat and began to clean the little colt when he detached, getting him presentable before placing him on herback, reaching for her last foal- and found nothing. She tilted her head, confused. Her nose scrunched up in concentration as she carefully pointed at each baby. “One, two, fwee…” She looked down at her leggies, pointing at each one in turn. “One, two, fwee, fouw!”
Her eyes went wide. She counted her babbehs again. Three. She counted her legs. Four. She knew she had FOUR babbehs. One for each leg! She detached the filly with a pop, placing her onto her back without bothering to lick her clean from the mud or bit of milk and piss/shit that she’d done through the night, simply hurriedly plopping her down before bursting out of the burrow. She began trotting around the Sorry-Tree hurriedly, looking all around for her other white filly, unaware that she’d long since been converted into fuel for a snake. “Come ou’, babbeh! Whewe awe yu?” She began to run around the tree, in wider and wider circles, desperation cracking her high pitched voice. “Pwease nu hide fwom Mummah!” She panicked, breaking into a sprint, her eyes wide as she searched among the lush, green grass for any sign of white- the rope snapped taut, and she fell back on her haunches, retching violently. “KAFF! KAFF! Haff haff- OWIES! STOOPID WOPE!” She tore at it once again with her useless soft hoof-pads, but found no purchase. Her remaining babbehs, startled from the sudden jolt, began to peep in distress.
Stormy dutifully took her babbehs from her back, hugging them. “Haff, haff-nu-KAFF!-nu wowwie, babbehs. Mummah am otay.” She sniffled. Three babbehs. She had somehow lost a babbeh, sometime in the night. She was a BAD MUMMAH. She hiccupped and cried, hugging her babbehs and covering them in mud once again. “HUUUUUU! WAN GO HOME! WAN GO HOME! MOMMY! MOMMYYYYYY HUUHUUUUUU!”
