Being out in the open is a death sentence for a fluffy. The journey to find a new, safer home was more dangerous than your mind could have possibly fathomed. Especially when it was becoming darktime, and you had nowhere to hide. You followed your smarty through the grass, your lungs burning as your legs ached from how hard you pushed your body. Some of the herdmates were too slow. They got caught by the orange yippy-mustah. Others tripped and broke their leggies. A shiver of terror washed over you at the sound of the birdie-munstahs cawing and ripping the flesh off the dead and dying. Their pained screams echoing through the air.
Even your special friend was taken from you. You didnât even hear the wings of the big wingie-munstah. Just her pained and terrified screams as she was snatched up into the are by itâs sharp talons. Your poor little chirpie babbehs falling to their deaths. You couldnât afford to stop and save them. By the time thier tiny bodies hit the ground with small, horrible thuds, you were too far away to tell if they still made any chirps. You were a bad toughie, and a worse daddehâŚ
All you could do was follow your smarty through the tall grass in hopes the monsters couldnât see you any more. Before you knew it, you had accidentally run out of the tall grass, into a small clearing with a tree on top of a hill. A fluffy youâve never seen before waves you over from a dug out hole within the hill. Your smarty and your brother waste no time darting into the hole in hopes of sanctuary, and you follow. Once you were safely hidden from the monsters outside, the three of you catch your breath.
Three. Thatâs all that was left of your herd. Your smarty, your toughie brother, and you. It gives you heart hurties. The fluffy stranger starts to leave, going further into the hole. Your smarty calls out to them.
âWait! Whewe âou goinâ?!â
The fluffy doesnât stop, but answers. âTu see Smawty.â
Your smarty huffs. âSmawty am smawty!â
The fluffy reiterates. âAm seeinâ Daffodiwâs smawty. Him wanna see 'ou.â
Your smarty looked tense after that. You knew he didnât get along with other smarties. Maybe this smarty would be nice though, and let you stay until it was safe to leave. Your group follows Daffodil through the tunnel, seeing it break off in different directions. As you passed by, you noticed other fluffies. Just glimpses of them, as they were quick to hide around the corners and alcoves within the branching tunnels. This nest was a lot bigger than youâd expected.You did begin to notice something strange though. There didnât seem to be a lot of fluffies living here.
After getting a better look at Daffodil, you noticed another oddity. These fluffies were BIG. Far bigger than you or your brother. Youâve never seen fluffies this big before. It made you feel nervous. If a fight broke out, there was surely no way just the three of you could take them on.
Your attention is dragged away from your thoughts when you finally reach the largest room of the nest. In the middle was a large pile of veggie nummies illuminated by an opening that let in the dim light from the slowly darkening sky.
âSmawty, Daffodiw finâ nyu fwuffies.â Your escort announced.
âAhh⌠Hewwo, nyu fwens.â An old sounding voice spoke up.
Following the sound of the voice you saw what you believe is the biggest, fattest fluffy to ever exist. Your mouth gaped at the sheer mountainous size of the elder fluff. The mare lying next to him was not much smaller.
âAm Cowswip. Dis am speshuw fwen, WandaâŚâ The large elder fluff explains, introducing the mare beside him. The mare doesnât move to acknowledge them, instead quietly whispering something that only the elder could hear.
Your smarty already puffs up his cheeks, and barks in an authoritative tone. âAm Smawty and Smawty toughies! Wan nummies and safe nestie!â
So itâs gonna be like that. Well, you were ready to give it your all, even if you werenât confident in being able to take on these massive fluffies. You and your brother also puff your cheeks to add intimidation to your smartyâs demands.
âOf couwse⌠Pwease, hab nummies. Yo hewd can stay as wong as 'ou wikeâŚâ The elder stated, slowly blinking his tired eyes, catching you off guard. He wasnât gonna fight for it? Not even a little ego measuring? Your brother was just as surprised, but your smarty seemed more triumphant and smug.
âTank 'ou vewy muchies, fwenâŚâ Your smarty says, immediately helping himself to the nummy pile. You and your brother follow suit, warily looking over your shoulders as you nibble at the delicious vegetables. Without a doubt, these were some of the best nummies youâd had in a long while. Your brother is the first to whisper to your smarty.
âSmawty, dis hewd smeww weiwdâŚâ
Your smartyâs chewing gets slower as he warily looks around. There are four more fluffies peeking over at you as they make half-hearted attempts to hide within the connecting alcoves. All of them huge. Yet, as you breathe in the scents of the herd, you notice just how strange they smell.
âAm dey sickiesâŚ?â You ask in a hushed tone.
âNu. Nu am sickies smewwâŚâ Your smarty confirms as he chews on a juicy tomato.
âWhewe am west oâ oddah hewd? Nu heaw mummah song, anâ nu smeww oâ heaw babbehsâŚâ Your brother muses.
This struck you as very odd. A nest this large? When the cold times were nowhere near? With this much abundance of food? Why wouldnât there be any babbehs? It was the perfect set up for having them.
Your smarty huffs, an ambitious grin growing on his face. Getting up, he approaches the elder smarty and stomps his hooves.
âWhewe am west oâ yo hewd? Whewe am toughies anâ nummie findews?â
âNu need dem.â The elder answers, his eyes shifting away as his ear flicks. Youâre left more confused than before.
âH-How get nummies wiffouâ nummie findews?â You accidentally ask. To which your smarty whips around and snaps at you.
âSHUDDUP DUMMEH! SMAWTY DU ASKIES! NOT 'OU!!â
You bow your head submissively, apologizing for speaking out of line. With a snort, your smarty turns back to the elder and repeats the question you just asked. âHow get nummies wiff nu nummie findews?!â
The elder shifts, his eyes looking everywhere but directly at your smarty before he lifts his head to look at the hole in the ceiling of the room. âFwom the sky howe⌠The hoomin bwing nummies ebwy bwighttimeâŚâ
âHoomin? What hoomin?!â Your smarty asks in alarm, making the elder scoff. That mustâve been it. That was the smell youâve been smelling. The elder smarty refuses to answer, instead gesturing to the nummie pile.
âPwease, hab mowe nummies. Dewe am wots oâ nesties 'ou can sweepies inâŚâ
Your smarty huffs, puffing out his chest as he demands one more question. âAm dis Smawty wand?â
âNu⌠Am nu fwuff wandâŚâ The elder answers, making the pit of your stomach tighten into knots. Your smarty smiles menacingly.
âWong! Dis am Smawtyâs wand!! Toughies, gib him fowebah sweepies!â
Your brother stomps up, following orders as he slams his hooves into the elder smartyâs face. Despite the large mound that made up the bigger smarty, he barely moves his body. Perhaps too fat to retaliate? Your brother gives another mighty stomp, pinning the elderâs head to the ground as he coughs. Boo-boo juice pouring from his muzzle. With one more stomp, the elderâs head caves in. His eyes popping out as blood sprays with the crunch of bone. The elderâs body convulses in itâs death throws. The surrounding fluffies cry and whimper, yet they donât fight back.
Your smarty turns to face them, demanding they all come out so he can set to new rules under his leadership.
ââOu am aww pawt oâ Smawtyâs hewd nao! 'Ou du what Smawty say ow 'ou get wostest huwties and sowwy poopies!â He turns to the mare that still lies beside the murdered corpse of her mate. ââOu am gonâ be Smawtyâs new enfie fwen! Wan guud feews nao!â
The pegasus doesnât move, she doesnât even cry. Her face remains slightly turned in the direction of the deceased elder, quietly whispering her name over and over even as your smarty mounts her. For some reason, the instant submission⌠No⌠The lack of reaction, unnerves you.
Your brother approaches another mare, proudly puffing his chest towards her. âToughie wan 'ou fow enfie fwen! Gib guud feews!â
The unicorn looks discomforted by his presence, yet she doesnât fight back. She simply sighs and gestures for him to follow her before leading him down one of the various tunnels for privacy.
You didnât feel like having enfies right now. Your heart still had hurties about losing your special friend and your babbehs. You instead ordered a couple of the other big fluffies to get rid of the corpse of the old ex-smarty. You make sure they do their work.
When you get back, your smarty was already pigging out on more nummies. the light from the âsky holeâ was almost gone. It was getting time for sleepies. Except, when you looked around, you realized your brother wasnât back yet. Maybe he was still having enfies? No, itâs been far too long for that⌠You decide that you need to find him, in case he got lost. You search each and every nest inside the warren, but he wasnât anywhere to be found. Neither was the mare he left with. You ask Daffodil where they couldâve gone. He solemnly suggests looking outside.
You cautiously follow one of the tunnels to poke your head outside, scanning the tall grass around you when you hear noise and see movement not too far away. You smell your brother, and dare to scurry closer. The sight before you freezes your heart like a tidalwave of icy water. You cry out for him, rushing over to his form writhing on the ground. Tears flow down his cheeks as bloody froth gurgles from his mouth. He chokes, struggling to breathe as he paws his bloodstained hooves at his neck. Thatâs when you see it. A wire connecting to his neck, disappearing under his fluff.
âBWUDDA!! Whaâ happen?! How hewp?!â You ask frantically, only to recieve choked gurgles and a frantic look in reply. You try to bite the wire, but despite it hurting your teeth, you canât chew through it. âDummeh meanie-sketti! Wet bwudda gu!â
You try giving the wire your worstest stompies and pulling it off your brother. all it does is make your brother choke harder and flail his hooves. His back leggies kicking frantically at the pile of scaredy poopies he makes. You suddenly realize the mare is still there. Sitting silently, watching your brother die.
âWhat âou doinâ?! Gu get hewpies!â
âNu.â The mare responds. Her refusal fills you with bewilderment and rage. You stomp the ground threateningly and demand that she go get help again.
âHim aweady goneâŚâ She replies, staring at you with tired eyes. You whip your head back to look at your brother, his thrashing body having slowed to a halt. He wasnât even breathing anymore. Your heart ached as you shook your head.
âNu⌠NuuhuuhuuâŚâ In your grief, you snapped. The sudden swell of anger filling you as you rounded on the mare and slammed a hoof into her muzzle. âDIS AM AWW YO FAUWT!!â
The mare turns her head back to look at you, fresh boo-boo juice dripping from her muzzle. She doesnât cry, or beg forgiveness. She doesnât even make scaredy peepees. Instead she fixes you with a withering smile.
ââŚWe aww gu foweba sweepies heweâŚâ
âW-Whaâ?â You ask, confused by her monotone response.
âAww the taww gwassies hab hoomin twaps. Nu can gu outsie wiffout gettinâ fowebah sweepiesâŚâ She explains, her dull eyes never leaving yours. âThe wawwen am onwy safe pwace. Can nebah weaveâŚâ
âB-Buh⌠Buh fwuffies came in fwom gwassies wiffout fowebah sweepies! Can get back outsies!â You tried to reason.
âAnnâ gu whewe? Am aww munstahs past the taww gwassies, anâ hoomin change twaps ebwy bwighttime⌠Du 'ou even wemembah which way tu guâŚ?â
You paused to think, nervously looking around. The tall grass made it impossible to see the open fields you came from. You didnât remember the safe path either. You were in such a panic making it to the warren that you completely lost the way you came from. It was a miracle you didnât get caught in a trap making it here to begin with. The realization makes it harder to breathe.
âHazew see it aww befowe⌠Yo smawty nu gonâ weawn⌠Buh 'ou wiww⌠wai we nu hab toughies⌠nu hab nummie findews⌠nu hab babbehs⌠âOu gonâ weawn wai we nu can spwowe, ow pway, ow weaveâŚâ She gets up, to slowly move around you and your brotherâs body and make her way back to the hill. ââOu gonâ see it aww⌠Wiff nyu babbehs, anâ nyu fwuffies⌠It happen âgain anâ gainâŚâ
The further she explains, the more you realize sheâs an empty husk of a fluffy. In fact, all the bigger fluffies were filled with the same emptiness. Thatâs why they didnât fight back. Thatâs why Cowslip acted so strangely when giving your smarty answers. Your smartyâs new enfie mare wasnât whispering her own name⌠She was wanting to die⌠The overwhelming sensation of dread makes you stumble. You feel sick. This wasnât a safe place to call home. This was a death trap. Yet you knew your smarty was too prideful to tell the differenceâŚ
You look up to see Hazel standing in front of the warren, looking back to see if you were following. Her dim eyes cut through you, as if barely even registering your presence. You slowly trudge after her, resigning yourself to the Hellish fate your smarty led you into.
