The Longest Winter
Chapter 19
Sheriff Stone pulled his Ford Bronco up to his hunting cabin. He was off duty, free to do as he pleased. He put the truck in park and looked over at his passenger seat. A black towel lay over a small box.
He pulled the towel off to reveal a plastic Tupperware container with three squealing fluffy foals inside. He had poked holes in the lid so that they could breathe. He looked behind him to make sure he hadn’t been followed before grabbing the container and heading into the hunting cabin.
The old log cabin was filled with a variety of mounted hunting trophies, from deer to fish and everything in between. Each wall was covered with them.
David turned on the light, bringing a glow down upon his dead collection. Their lifeless eyes followed him as he walked over to the desk at the other end of the cabin where he set the container down. Normally he used the desk for making fishing lures, it was surrounded with sharp hooks and other instruments. He pulled up the old rolling office chair and took a seat, staring at the container before him.
The sheriff watched as the squealing foals climbed over one another, crying desperately in hopes their mother would hear them. His eyes were again hypnotized by them. Their cuteness was sickening. Every fiber in his body want to squeeze them until they popped like a stress ball in his hand.
The moment he had laid eyes on them back at Ruth’s cabin he felt the sickening urge to kill them. They were an abomination, a grotesque experiment that pissed in the face of God. They deserved their fate.
He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts before standing up and heading over to the closet. He opened it and turned on the drawstring light hanging inside. He looked down to see a filthy fluffy lying on the floor, muzzled and terrified as it squinted up at him through the blinding light.
He grabbed the green pegasus by its orange mane and tossed it into the center of the room. He had found the fluffy digging through his trash one night and was able to lure him inside with some food. He then brought the creature out to the cabin where he could keep it hidden safely away from any nosey neighbors.
The fluffy shivered on the floor as the sheriff looked down at him, wondering what to do first. There were so many options. The little pony looked so pathetic, it disgusted David as he glared down at it, clenching his fists with excitement and uncontrollable rage.
He took another deep breath and walked over to the refrigerator to grab himself a beer. He drank it quickly before tossing it in the trash and grabbing another. He grabbed the fluffy in one hand while holding his beer in the other. He stepped outside into the cold fall air and tossed the fluffy on the cold dirt. He set his beer down on the rusty old patio table outside. He went into the cabin to retrieve a few things and emerged holding a tent stake and a length of rope. He stomped the stake into the ground and securely tied the rope to it. He attached the other end to the fluffy’s collar before untying his restraints and removing the muzzle.
“P-pweeze wet fwuffy go.” The miserable creature begged. “So hungwee an fiwstee…”
“You want some water?” The sheriff asked while unzipping his jeans.
“Yes pweez.” The fluffy said nervously.
David proceeded to relieve himself, aiming right at the fluffy’s face. He stepped on its tail to prevent it from running away. The little pony cried and tried to pull itself away to no avail. The sheriff drenched the squealing animal with urine before zipping up and walking back to the cabin.
The fluffy attempted to run the moment its tail was free, and for a few frantic feet it seemed like he might get away, only to have his collar choke him as the rope pulled against the firmly planted stake.
Stone had given the pony about 20 feet of rope to work with, allowing it plenty of room to run around. The sheriff emerged from the cabin yet again, this time holding a small rifle. It was a pump action BB gun. He had no intention of killing the creature anytime soon. He just wanted to have some fun and enjoy toying with his prisoner. He sat in the metal chair by the table outside and pumped the bb gun several times to build up as much pressure as possible for maximum damage. The fluffy was too busy chewing on the rope to realize what was happening.
POP!
A direct hit on the pony’s flank. The animal screamed in pain and ran to the other side of the dirt driveway before getting yanked back by its collar again. David chuckled to himself as he took a few drinks of his beer. He pumped up the gun again and took another shot.
POP!
This time he caught the fluffy’s ear, causing a bit of blood to drip down. The pony squealed in agony as all of the sensitive nerves endings in its ear shot pain signals to its brain. The sheriff laughed while slapping his knee, something he never did in front of anyone.
His true self was a sadist who only found joy in hunting, or in this case, tormenting fluffies. He didn’t know why he liked it, but he did. Something about the sickening cuteness of the creature and its annoying baby talk just made him furious. He pumped up one round after another and continued to shoot the fanatic fluffy as it ran around the driveway.
POP!
POP!
POP!
The pony finally was too exhausted to run. It slumped down on the cold dirt in defeat, shivering as its urine soaked fur chilled it to the bone. Blood caked with dirt as its ear continued to bleed into the fur around it. The pony whined and whimpered as it shivered in the cold.
The sheriff needed another beer. He took the gun inside and placed it back in the gun safe before heading to the fridge. He popped open a fresh cold beer and guzzled it quickly before letting out a loud burp.
He then reached on top of the fridge and pulled down a small dog food dish normally used for his bloodhound. He filled it with stale kibble and walked back outside. He placed the dish down near the front of the porch. He unzipped his pants and filled the dish with urine over the kibble, letting out a relaxed sigh as he enjoyed himself. Luckily for the foal the urine was at least mostly water after three beers had been filtered through the sheriff’s system. The sheriff then zipped up his pants before shouting at the fluffy.
“Get over here!” He demanded, pointing down at the dish.
The fluffy had been watching carefully as the sheriff did his business. But he was too scared to move. He just laid there, shivering in a sad little ball. This infuriated Stone as he stomped over to the quivering creature. He violently grabbed it by the scruff and yanked it up to eye level as he crouched down.
“WHEN I SAY COME, YOU COME!” The man screamed in the pony’s face. “GOT IT?”
The fluffy was terrified as urine dribbled down from between its legs, all over its dirty, matted tail.
David tightened his grip on the pony’s scruff as he glared at the terrified animal. “I know you understand me.” He said in a threatening voice. “If you don’t do as I say, I’ll beat you within an inch of your life.”
The whimpering fluffy finally found the strength to talk. “O-otay.” He stammered.
“Good.” Stone said as he dropped the creature back down onto the dirt. “Now go eat.”
The little pony continued to weep as it scurried over to the dish, keeping low to the ground in a defensive stance as it quickly ate the urine soaked food. It hadn’t eaten in days - it’s starving hunger overrode its resistance to eat the foul smelling kibble. The pony gobbled it up quickly and licked the bowl. He was still thirsty, but was too scared to say anything.
“That’s a good boy.” The sheriff said with a laugh. “Was that good?” He asked the fluffy, staring down at him menacingly.
“Y-yes.” The fluffy said, still shivering cold. Snot had begun to drip from his snout and down his mouth.
The sheriff stared at the miserable animal for a while, wondering what to do next. He went inside and grabbed a towel. He brought it out and sat down on the porch steps.
“Come’ere.” He said, snapping his fingers.
The trembling little pony scurried over towards the man and cringed as it got closer, wincing and whining as it expected more abuse. Instead the sheriff gathered him up in the towel and started rubbing him dry while also wiping the blood and snot from his face.
He didn’t know why, but after relieving some rage on the creature he didn’t feel the urge to abuse it anymore, he even felt a hint of guilt as he held the quivering fluffy in his arms. But overall he felt… better. Like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. All of the stress from his job and personal life had melted away, all thanks to his little punching bag.
The pony was wrapped in the towel like a chubby little burrito, his little hooves poking out the front as his breathing slowly returned to normal. The sheriff reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and some matches. He lit up a smoke and breathed deep, letting the nicotine relax him even more. He blew the smoke out into the cold autumn air with a sigh as he began to pet the little pony’s head.
David could only imagine the creature’s confusion as the man went from brutal abuse to gentle kindness. He flicked the finished cigarette out into the driveway and looked down to see that the pony had fallen asleep on his lap, no doubt exhausted from the whole ordeal. The sheriff untied the rope from the fluffy’s collar and took it inside. He placed it back in the safe room, cleaned the litter box, and put down a fresh towel. He then set the animal down on the towel and closed the door.
He then walked over to the wooden desk where the babies were still inside of the plastic container. They had huddled into a corner for warmth, cuddling each other as they shivered, hungry and scared. The sheriff slumped down in the desk chair and tapped on the container to wake them up. They stirred a little but didn’t move much. He considered shaking the box for a laugh but he knew he had to be careful. As young foals they were fragile and sensitive. It would be a waste to kill them carelessly.
He decided to take the big one out and watch it run around the floor. The innocent creature fumbled out of the man’s large hands and onto the wooden floor and began sniffing around. It looked up at him with its beady black eyes, wagging its tail and peeping curiously.
“God, I could just stomp you right now.” Stone said in a low gravely voice. He clenched his fist and resisted the urge as he headed toward the fridge for another beer. He popped the cap off and flicked it at the foal, narrowly missing the creature. The baby pony chased after the cap and sniffed it as it stopped against the wall. He picked it up in his mouth and brought it over to the sheriff, placing it at his feet and looking up, hoping the man would throw it again.
“Pretty smart.” David said with raised eyebrows. He wanted to kick the foal so badly, but decided to do something less lethal.
He picked up the foal and took it over to the sink. It was a deep stainless steel sink, the kind found in laundry rooms or restaurant kitchens. He plugged the bottom and placed the foal inside. He turned on the water to a slow trickle and pulled up a chair to watch. He sipped his beer and waited for the show to begin.
