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đHe is not lazy today.
âSCREEEEE! BIWDIE MUNSTAH! WUN! SCREEEEE!â
Terror pulsed through the herd as the two buzzards swooped down upon them in individual flurries of talons and beaks. Itâs not like they were executing a coordinated attack, the avians were a solitude species; most likely they had both ceased the opportunity to feed.
That did not matter to the fluffies.
Shit and screams permeated the atmosphere, herd mates turning on each other in the name of self-preservation.
âGET OUTTA POPCOWNâS WAY! NEE ESCAPE BIWDIE MUNSTAHS!â
âTEAK STOOPI BABBEHS! NU TAEK GUNTEW SCREEEEE!â
The chaos fed into itself, the cold earth growing slick with all sorts of liquids. The scent of terror was constant and overbearingâŚ
âHEWD! STAWP! FOWWOW ZEBWA!â
The stallion yelled as loud as his lungs allowed him, but not even he could damper the frenzied terror of his herd.
It was rubbing off him too.
His breaths grew ragged and his legs tensed: it was all so scaryâŚ
The sound and scent had attracted more buzzards, intent on cashing in on the carnage.
All in all, Zebra could count four and one buzzards descending upon his herd.
Screaming
Crying
Kicking
Bucking
Twitching
Cracking
Tearing
Limbs
Head
Eyes
Organs
Red
Red
RedâŚ
âSCREEEEE! NU HUWT BESTES MUMMAH! HEWP! SABE SANDY!â
His ears flicked forward. Amongst the turmoil Sandyâs voice was strikingly clear.
It pulled him out of his terrified stupor and before he knew it he was racing back down the hill, hooves striking the ground at a speed unbeknownst to fluffies.
âWEAVE SPESHAW FWEN AWONE!â The striped stallion slid to a stop, snorting angrily as he stood in front of the wailing pegasus.
âGU âWAY!â He snarled once more, jumping towards the buzzard. It seemed uncertain, hopping backwards.
Then pain burst forth from his side.
âSCREEEEEEE!â
Lifted higher and higher into the sky, Zebra screamed for all his worth. He was taken by complete surprise, never seeing the other buzzard, not even when its talons were in view.
He calmed his nerves somewhat, writhing as he snapped and jerked in the buzzardâs grip. It relented quite quickly, moving on to better prey and leaving Zebra to fall.
And fall he did.
Screaming as he went, the stallion fell the whole seven metres, landing with a terrifying crunch on his side.
He slowly opened his eyes, adrenaline coursing through him as he staggered back up:
But something was horribly wrong.
His foreleg⌠well what was his foreleg was just a crumpled mass of shredded bone and skin. It hung limply, and ached dully. He was almost entranced by it. The notion of a limb so broken he could hardly feel it, in the midst of a bloody battle of which he was losingâŚ
KEEY YA
He whipped his head to the sound, watching the buzzard begin its swoop.
He felt his fear melt away and his head grow warm and foggy as blood rushed to his ears.
Whatâs happening to me?
He wondered, eyes trained on the talons drawing nearerâŚ
âMUSCAWI SABE ZEBWA!â
In a brilliant flash of blue Muscari leapt in front of his leader, rearing and screaming incoherently to ward off the buzzards.
It worked, and as the buzzards veered away from them, he bit down on Zebraâs scruff and dragged him away from the death site, away from the Great Sequoia Tree and the hill.
.
.
.
.
âMuscari! Ou otay!â Relieved, Rose swept him into a tight hug, tears of happiness dampening his fur.
âYis, Muscawi gu an sabe Zebwa! Ou otay tu?â
Rose sniffled, âAm otay, Bwought Sandy hewe.â before indicating to the crimson maned mare, who was whining incessantly.
âZebwa!â A gasp from behind Sandy revealed Dandelion, and she raced to the dazed earthy.
âOu huwt, ouw weg has wowstes owwiesâŚ.Dandewion wiww hewp.â The mare was quick to spring into action, but Muscari stopped her.
âWait, we nee tu moov fwom hewe. Da big twee id nu safe nu moweâŚâ His voice was assertive, and he looked to everyone else.
âHoo ewse am hewe?â
After a little roll call Muscari had a definitive answer.
From the herd: Rose, Chocolate, Dandelion, Strawberry, Cucumber, Sandy, her two foals, Ruby and Gold, Zebra and himself remained. Maybe others had survived and ran offâhe didnât know, and he wasnât about to go searching for them either.
âOtay! Aww fwuffies fowwow Muscawi! Dandewion an Sandy hewp Zebwa wawk!â
A small chorus of affirmation later, the remnants of the herd were shuffling slowly away from their home. It was scary, the tall trees loomed ahead, thick foliage blocking light from reaching down belowâŚ
âStawbewwy scawedâŚâ The pink foal whispered, as the forest grew bigger with every step.
âNu wowwy, fowest wook scawy buh bewy gud fow hidin fwom biwdie munstahs!â Muscari reassured, though he was shaking himself.
Eventually, they reached the forest, trekking as far into it as they dared.
Soon a clearing made itself apparent, and the whole herd seemed to sigh with relief. Their pace quickened until they stood within the clearing.
âDis wewe we stayin fow nao.â
It was the icebreaker they all wanted to hear. Despite the horrors of the day, Chocolate, Strawberry and Cucumber were quick to resume their games, successfully enticing Sandyâs brood to join in. The mares all sat together, babbling happily about nothing in particular while Muscari stood alone.
His tongue stuck out as he screwed his eyes shut. He was thinking deeply on what to do about the situation; he mightâve been an exceptionally smart unicorn, but he was still just a fluffy.
A non-alicorn, regular, unexperienced fluffy.
âMuscawi, Dandewion hab ideasiesâŚâ
Snapped out of his thoughts, he turned to the coy mare. She seemed a little timid, but Muscari could see the intelligence past her shining emerald eyes, an intelligence beyond his own.
âOtay, wetâs heaw it.â