Yeah. I’ve been in a lot of charity oneshots lately, and a new streaming campaign every friday afternoon. I’m actually only up early because I have one in an hour and a half. Been doing a lot of character art and backstory and very little fluffy stuff. I’m sorry, everyone. I do have chap 44 started, and I’ll plod along when I have time and energy.
“Shadow-” The large man held up his hands appeasingly, carefully judging her expression. “Haven’t touched anything. Just had an idea to run by you.”
“I’m listening.” She crossed her arms, still leaning defensively against the office door. “You better have a damn good reason for showing up when you aren’t scheduled, and with a crate from your Uncle’s shelter again at that.”
“Yes, well, notice it is sitting in front of you, and not being snuck into the kennel this time?” He rubbed at his neck, glancing away from the firmly untrusting gaze still leveled at him. “Look, we’re still down most of the feeder supply until your boy gets things dealt with and also running out of footage to dump on the site. Unless you’re willing to spare breeding stock or let them shred the snake food talkies, you need something to set them on. The little’uns are also a lot short of experience with food that actually looks like fluffy, which, given what they’re growing up around…”
“They might start getting the same friends not food issue I had to drop Foxfire out of most of the footage for. Because fluffies are Marnie and Pepper and the other nurse mares, and food is in bowls,” Shadow sighed, some of the defensiveness on her face fading. “I know, believe me I know. It doesn’t help that the local hugbox league is pushing petitions again. They already got some of the daycare regulations and the breeding licence restrictions tightened again. I don’t like the idea of running more video out of the yard until you get better privacy screening on the fence. With the new fervor in town, the wrong person looks in at the wrong time and I have to deal with a heck of a headache.”
“I’m working on that. If we’d considered posting the footage on a regular basis and the chance that the local hugboxers would be in a push, I’d have recommended that other kennel with a basement for the facility. Or having a second site other than the lab.” Kal drummed his fingers over the plastic crate, looking thoughtful. There was a chorus of shrill, incoherent protest from the crate, and he smacked the top until it quieted. “You’d want soundproofing as well if you do it here and are still trying to jump through the insurance hoops for the daycare.”
“I’m…. With the new insurance fees that new plan of theirs would put in, I don’t think we’d actually get enough clients to justify it and a new employee. Because Genny can’t do full time outside the summer and no one else…”
“Yeah, I get your point. We’ve kinda been fuckups with this fancy fluffy shit, and you don’t want us to lose out tempers or get any ideas in our heads,” the massive twenty something sighed heavily. On the other side of the desk, the bluenette visible mouthed “kinda?” and he rolled his eyes. “Back to what I came here for. This isn’t the same kind of opportunity as Princie was, but if you want to try pulling the full pack in on a hunt again… Minus miss Prego-pants, anyway.”
“By which you mean you brought me the kind of fluffy even Foxfire’s ‘wan be friend’ attitude will fail against?” Shadow asked, stepping back from the door to drop back into her chair and study the cluster of sullen fluffies in the crate. “They stink worse than most of the ferals, Kal.”
“Hoarder house. Someone did a very belated welfare check on his uncle, and it was pretty bad. The multiple feet of crud between the walkway and the actual floor, couple hundred fluffies kinda bad. Uncle Thomas culled out the remotely salvageable for adoption foals pretty fast, but that still leaves a lot of fluffies with all kinds of behavior and health issues. More than enough of them that a few cratefuls vanishing won’t matter in the week or so before the official kill order comes in.” The briefly interested look on her face was going highly skeptical again and Kal gave her an optimistic grin. “I pulled these from the group already looked over and tested for contagious shit. I’m not that stupid, Shadow. These are behavior issues, not anything that might get your pretties sick.”
“Please don’t give me straight lines like that. Put the crate- and any others you found fallen off the shelter truck- in the exam room. You can help me hose them off and give them a second look over, just in case.” The moment he opened up his mouth, she lifted a hand. “Forgive me if I’m a little hesitant about trusting your judgement on what is or isn’t good for the Pack, okay?”
“Fine. Fair.” Kal agreed with another wince, already grabbing the crate back off the desk and shaking it until it’s contents fell silent again.
The bright green pegasus with the neon mane hesitantly poked his nose out of the barely cracked door, his soft hooves making faint thuds against the hard tile of the stainless steel filled exam room and the hallway. His ears were pinned back flat against his head, his nostrils flaring steadily. There was a patter of similar hoofsteps from behind him, complaints and questions voiced in careless stage whispers. “Dis nyu housie smeww funnies,” the tall mare at his flank whined, the earthy stallion at her other side joining in with a “Nu can smeww udda fwuffies hewe. Wewe west ob hewd?”
“Nu tawkies! Vewdigwis nee’ wook awound. Owd Daddeh say Vewdigwis in chawgies! Am best fwuffy!” Irritably, he slammed his hooves back into the loudest of them, ears flicking at the muted yelps. “Gon’ fin udda’ fwuffies, get hewd back.” He stared out into the hall again, a look of deep concentration on his face. “An…”
“An’ fin’ nestie pwaces an’ nummie boxes.” The neon green unicorn behind the other fluffies added hopefully. “An’ mawes.” the other stallions in the cluster made agreeing noises, and the lone mare huffed, tossing her mane. “Cwova’ wan be mawe ‘gain, stead ob tuffy? Emewawd wan hab enfies, speciew wumps huwt.”
“Nu. Am tuffy, an nu mawe fo’ enfies. Twy enfies wit Cwova, an’ ou’ speciew wumps gun huwt eben wowstest fwom sowwy hoofsies.” The blue mare, easily as large as any of the other fluffies present, shook her mane again, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof. As she did, her nostrils flared, head lifting as she sniffed farther from the disinfectant laced air they were leaving. “Dewe am udda fwuffies hewe! Nu smeww wike hewd, bu’ am dewe.”
All six of the stallions hovering at the door perked up at that comment,scrambling excitedly into the hallway to study the maze of doors and corridors. The tiled hall opened out into a wide kitchen that reeked of almost as much bleach as the room they had left, but several bright colored forms could be seen circling the bowls at the far side of the room. Verdigris strutted forward without more than a brief hesitation at the sight of the horns and wings some of them sported. There were a pair of young soon-mummahs nosing a bright rubber ball between them, a tumble of foals tangled into an endless game of tag, and a pair of grey mares curled up watching them. His expression went smug, and he motioned his toughies forward. Munstas many of these fluffies may be, but humans favored those anyways. He could use their place in his new herd to keep the new humans from taking them back to the noisy place. Besides, mares were mares.
As he approached, many of the new fluffies lifted their heads, watching his little band with an odd assortment of expressions. A impressively large munsta fluffy rose up from behind the soon- mummahs, and Verdegris paused to exchange a steadily measuring look with the ivory stallion. With the way his herd had been scattered, another potential toughie was always a welcome sight. Even if it meant the pregnant mares he was clearly guarding were off-limits. There were other- “Nyu fwiends?” the smaller of the grey mares asked hesitantly, the lighter earthy next to her leaning comfortingly into her as she edged closer. Her expression brightened considerably as the distance closed, as if whatever she was worried about had passed. “Hi- hewwo-hi! Am Fo’fia! Gween fwuffy be nyu fwiend?”
“Fo’fia am…” he eyed her odd feet for a moment before circling her. “Am welcome in Vewdegwis hewd. Nee’ mawes. Fo’fia pwetty fwiend come too?” Emerald and Jasper had worked their way around the other mare as well, snuffling heavily at her flanks and tail. “Am bot’ smeww pwetty,” he crooned as he leaned into the smaller one. “Nu meet mawe smeww dat pwetty since Vewdegwis am cowt. Can be fiwst ob Verdegwis mawes.” His muzzle pressed under her tail, and she squealed in indignation, scrambling away from him with a quick buck that rattled his teeth.
“Nu! Fo’fia hab speciew fwiend awweady! Mawnie am speciew fwiend!” she insisted. The louder her voice went, the more alert the ivory munsta stallion behind the soon mummahs was to what was going on. And her voice went shrill as metal on glass the moment she saw the way Emerald and Jasper had pinned the earthy mare, Amber and Agate boxing her further into the corner of the shining clean kitchen. “Nu! Nu huwt Mawnie!”
“Mawnie am fine. Wiww hab gud babbehs fwom bestest tuffies,” Verdigwis told her in his most soothing tone, unable to hide all his exasperation. “Fo’fia am siwwy. Wiww be otay wen hab bestest tummeh babbehs, mawes awways otay wen hab tummeh babbehs.” The little munsta mawe ducked her head, and the stallion’s advance stalled as a menacing hiss issued from her small frame, teeth like the kitty munsta she sounded like bared at him. “Mayb’ Vewdegwis an’ Fo’fia nee’ tawk bout dis wittw mowe…” he offered, glancing back at the other mawe nervously as if to check for more unseen fangs. “Vewdegwis hewp tuffies gib eben betta babbehs to bigga mawe, den mayb…” Another hiss, and one of those odd forefeet swung at him, opening bleeding lines over his muzzle. “Owwies!”
A stumbled step backwards, and the green stallion covered his nose protectively, only looking away from the tiny threat when a soft tump and an amused chuckle came from the hall. The swingy flap on the door across had pushed open, a grey stallion just as unnervingly large as the ivory and blue climbing out to survey the situation. “Ah, dis am supwise Mummah say weady afta nap time,” he remarked, unconcerned with the pile of stallions or the blood seeping out from under their leader’s hooves. “Fo’fia otay?”
“Fwuffies am huwting Mawnie!” she snapped, and the larger one stretched, making room for the beige mare behind him. The yawn as he did revealed a gape of teeth just as unnatural as the other’s, and Verdegris whimpered under his breath.
“Nu am huwting gwey mawes! Jus gon gib babbehs!” he insisted a moment later, backing back into his herd as the new mare grinned a smile of broken jagged edges just as unnerving as the pristine needle fangs the munstas wore. “Vewdegwis gun…gun… Tuffies hewp!” The other stallions looked up, reluctantly abandoning the mare they had trapped to rush forward.
The moment Jasper’s tawny hooves lifted from Marnie’s silver back, she bolted, straight into a measured slap from Clover’s hoof. The lone female toughie grabbed for the new mare’s mane, dragging her farther into the corner before knocking her to her side. “Nyu mawe stay put, be safe. Cwova nee’ hewp hewd wit’ munsta fwuffies.”
“Big fwuffy munstas say be Vewdegwis nyu tuffies, can stay wit hewd!” the green pegasus offered desperately, still pressing a hoof to his bleeding face. “Hab any mawe tuffies wan, hab aww enfies eba wan! Bestest fwoow nummies! Smeww pwettiest nesties!”
“Awweady hab aww dat.” The blue maned stallion he’d seen earlier stepped easily over the mares he had been guarding, strolling over to the clustered herd. Emerald puffed his cheeks at the newcomer, lowering his horn in threat before the alicorn casually thumped him across the face. “Hab Pack. Nu nee’ hewd.” The young soon mummahs backed away, leaving the ball behind as they cowered in the corner. “An’ hab bestest nummies.” He brought a hoof down again, this time at the hoof pressed to the unicorn’s bruised muzzle, snapping out with that sharp mouth of teeth to yank him to the side.
“O’fewia, gu wound dat way. Gwowy, wound udda way. Gib huwties, bu’ nu foweba sweepies wite nao. Fo’fia, stay hewe ow gu hewp Mawnie,” Rook told the others, staring down the puffed up pegasus in amusement. “Bwanw’n, ‘Wekto, stay put!” he added in a hurry, glancing over at the eagerly watching itty bitties before they had taken more than a few steps forward. “Awes tu! Aww babbehs stay oba dewe.”
“Nu gib foweba sweepies? Why nu?” Ophelia asked, already bounding around the other side of the small herd. Jasper kicked back with both hind hooves, and she lunged forward, taking the glancing blow to her shoulder in order to sink those jagged teeth into his hamstring. A mouthful of flesh and fluff came away as the screaming, thrashing toughie shook her off, and she swallowed and grinned.
“Ou’ wiww see, jus gib…” Rook lunged forward himself, grabbing for the foreleg waved desperately in his direction and snapping it before Foxfire launched her self onto the smarty’s back, clawing and biting down at his neck. “Dat wowks. Puww dewm owt ub hewd, gib weggie huwties su nu can wun.”
Clover had frozen halfway to her herd, taking cautious steps back before she realized Marnie had bolted for the far end of the kitchen and the clustered foals. “Ou’ can twy wunning,” Glory suggested, lashing out with his heavy wings to send Agate sprawling with both his front legs askew at painful angles. “Nu wiww hewp. Bu’ ‘ou can twy.” He pinned the tawny yellow fluffy with a heavy cloven hoof between his withers, glancing over at the other large stallion. “Can hab nummies nao? Ow Wook gonna tree Gwowy mowe wat du?”
Rook shot his brother an annoyed look, his wings mantling forward before he shook them loose again. “Awwmost. Babbehs wan nummies? Can come owba hewe nao.” he called, stomping down on another of the protesting pegasus smarty’s legs. At the rapid sound of scrambling tiny hooves over tile, he shook his mane, reaching forward to sink his fangs into Verdegris’s wing and pull him over onto his side. “Am wess fwuff on bewwy, stawt dewe,” he said encouragingly as the white and red alicorn foals skidded to a stop next to him.
“Bu…am fwuffy?” Branwyn asked, her ears pinning back for a moment as Ares took a tentative mouthful of fluff. “Smeww wike Mawnie an’ mummah Peppa’” Her nostrils still flared as the scent of blood sank in, and she took another step forward.
“Am fwuffy nummy. Nu hab cowwa, Mummah nu say be nicies.” He swept a wing forward, gesturing at where Marnie had reached the presumed safety of the huddle with Harmony and Melody. “Nu pack fwuffies wit cowwas am fwiend tu pack, nee be nicies and fwiendy. Nu pack fwuffies dat nu hab cowwas, dat nu smeww wike soapies an housies? Am nummy fwuffies.”
He yanked his head back, tearing strips off the already bitten wing and dropping the bloody chunk in front of the young filly. A hesitant nibble, and she glanced between him and the screaming pegasus, ears flicking before she took another bite. “Nummy fwuffy am woud?” With a sigh, he pulled Verdegris over farther, ripping out his throat with a practiced motion. As the nearest source of desperate screaming and pleading went silent, Branwyn stepped forward again, nipping small bites from the wound with increasing confidence. Ares had reached flesh, tiny fangs working to open his own gouges as Rook gave his mane a fond nuzzle.
“Oh. Dat why.” Glory remarked with a wing shrug, and ripped into the fluffy stallion he still had pinned, swallowing his mouthful before waving the waiting trio of fillies forward. Aleko, Megaera and Lyssa all eagerly pounced on the opening, none of them seeming to mind the screams as they filled their bellies with living meat.
“Wook am gud Smaw…Pack secon’” Ophelia corrected herself as the demonfluff glanced at her, ripping off chunks for the foals that had come to her. Kalypso and Orpheus set in just as eagerly as the trio, the blond pegasus chewing steadily into the exposed throat as Ophelia hummed and cooed at her proudly. “Am gud pack babbehs, smart pack babbehs. Gwow big an’ stwong, num man’ fwuffies.”
Rook had left the pair eating the murdered smarty to their own devices, stepping casually over to the other green stallion as more of the itty bitties skittered under his hooves. “Am gud babbehs. Wiww be gud pack fwuffies when big. Make Mummah happies,” he agreed, if with an ear flick as Butterscotch lumbered into his hock on the way to the orange fluffy he was now opening a wider wound into for the round golden foal and the pink alicorn tumbling after him. “Wet babbehs eat fiww, den big pack fwuffies eat. Dewe nuff meat fow aww pack.”
Foxfire had pulled away from the others, steadily stalking the green mare in the far corner of the room. “‘Ou huwt Mawnie!” she snapped, fangs bared. “Nu huwt speciew fwiend! Fo’fia gun gib ou’ wowstest huwties!” A quick snap and a dodge of flailing hooves, and she had ripped a chunk of fluff and skin from Clover’s shoulder, shredded an ear. Dance out of reach, lunge back in, claws and fangs bared and flashing.
“Fo’fia, am otay. Nu nee’ huwt fwuffies, pwease.” Marnie was pacing carefully forward, her voice soothing and pleading as she stared at the smaller mare. “Pwease, Mawnie nu nee’…am guud fwuffy, fo’fia! Ou am guud fwuffy, nu nee huwties, nu nee num udda….” The pack stallions and Ophelia were all staring at her, and she flinched, staring at her hooves for a long moment before she stepped forward again. “Pwease nu do dis, Fo’fia!”
Foxfire paused, visibly confused, her fangs still covered in a tangle of blood and fluff. “Wha… Why Mawnie yewwing? Am bad fwuffy, Mawnie. Gab ‘ou huwties, hewp bad stawwions twy gib bad speciew huggies. Bad fwuffies am nummies.”
“Huwting fwuffies am awways bad, Fo’fia! Am bad to num fwuffies! Mawnie wub Fo’fia, bu’ nu can… Nu can du dis any mow! Eben babbehs am numming fwuffies! Am bad, aww bad, nu wike, pwease!” Her voice went more shrill with every word, the other normal fluffies still living in the room all just as wide eyed and frantic.
“Mummah Shado’ say num bad fwuffies! Am gud nummies, Mawnie!” Fo’fia protested, leaving the wounded mare to scramble at the now closed door and paw desperately and futilely at the sealed flap. “Mummah Shado say…”
“Mummah Shado am munsta hoomin! Am bad, am nu… Scree!” A pair of solid cloven hooves had slammed into Marnie’s side, sending her tumbling into a sprawl as Rook stalked further after her, his ears flat back and fangs bared in a furious snarl. The snarl vanished into a confused yelp as a small form latched on to his wing with a frantic hiss.
“Nu huwt Mawnie!” Foxfire protested, and her brother paused in his advance, stamping a hoof as his head dropped. Then his wing snapped open, shaking the smallest adult demonfluff off into her own dazed sprawl, and his gaze had fixed on the earthy mare again before she even hit the floor. Another step forward, and Foxfire launched herself at him again, getting in a brief nip to his hock before he kicked her back off him. “Nu. Nu huwt Mawnie, Mawnie am Pack!”
“Nu am Pack. Mawnie am jus Fo’fia pet, an nao caww Mummah bad names. Mawnie am gonna-”
“Rook. leave it.” The door slammed shut behind the blue haired woman as she irritably kicked the green mare out of her way, phone still displaying video. “I can deal with Marnie myself. Foxfire, stop biting your brother.” The large charcoal alicorn stepped back, plopping back onto his haunches as Marnie flattened herself on the ground, not looking at Shadow. “What am I going to do with you, Marnie?” she sighed, rubbing at her temples. Without waiting for an answer, she snagged the mare by the scruff of her neck, hauling her up and surveying the scene without actually looking at her again. “You did pretty good kiddos. Good Pack. have fun with your meal, I’ll be back in a while.”
“Mummah Shado! Pwease, Mummah Shado’, nu huwt Mawnie! Fo’fia wub Mawnie, nee’ speciaw fwiend!” Foxfire started pleading, clawed forelegs pawing at Shadow’s jean clad shins. The human paused, sighing heavily.
“Just eat your food, Fox. I’m not going to hurt Marnie. You can see her again later tonight, okay? She just needs a time out and some quiet to think about her future here.”
First Chapter- The Pack- because what we need is more fluffies bred to eat other fluffies. (1) by :Shadowfox
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