Deep within the rubble of a long-dead city, a greying pink fluffy sat atop an upturned milk crate. Below her, foals of many ages and colors sat and listened attentively. One among them was you, a unicorn colt with pretty orange fluff like your daddeh and a deep red mane like your mummah.
“An’ den hooman mummah take Fwosting homesies, and she make Fwosting fwoot sawad fo’ bein’ bwabe fwuffy at vet. An’ den wen Fwosting eat aww da fwooties mummah tuck Fwosting into bed wif bwankies an’ stuffy fwens fo’ bestest sweepies!”
As she finished her story the foals around her began to chatter excitedly about all the new concepts in her story.
“Wha’ am fwoot??” You asked.
“It am soft, sweet nummies!” Frosting replied. “It am pwetty cowows am bestest nummies!”
“Bestest wan’ fwootie nummies!” You chirped.
“Nu am twue.” The growl of your daddeh cut Frosting’s reply off.
Most of the foals began to tremble and back away as your herd’s smarty, your daddeh, squeezed himself under the colapsed doorway and entered the herd’s nursery. “Nu fwootie nummies.”
Frosting balked at the idea. “Buh Fwosting hab dem!! Hooman mummah-”
“Nu hoomans.” Smarty said plainly, walking toward the crowd of foals.
“FWOSTING HAB HOOMAN MUMMAH!” she shouted. “FWOSTING AM GUUD FWUFFY! NU AM DIWTY NU-HOMESIE FWUFFY!”
“…Wha’ yu just caww smawty?”
Frosting froze as Smarty slowly turned his fiery gaze onto her.
“N-nuffin’! Fwosting nu caww Smawty nuffin!!”
“Am Smawty a diwty nu homesie fwuffy?” the stallion growled, taking a step towards her.
“Nu, nu! Fwosting jus’-” your daddeh’s hoof cut her off, hitting her square in the mouth and sending her tumbling to the floor.
“Owd fwuffy nu knu nuffin.” He spat before turning to you. “Nu wisted tu dummeh fwuffy stowies nu mowe.”
You gasped. You loved the stories of the old fluffies, of balls and blocks and the mythical sketties of the old times. “Buh Daddeh-”
“Nu awgue.” He silenced you with a look. “Bestest am gun’ be smawty wun day, nu hab stoopid stowies makin’ yu do dummeh tings.”
You hung your head. You were the only fluffy who could even try to argue with your daddeh. Even your mummah would get a hoof to the nose for talking back.
Smarty motioned for you to come with him, and you followed him away from the sniffling Frosting curled up on the floor.
He trotted through the rubble filled space you called home, occasionally hopping over the larger cracks in the floor. The most stable, intact area was reserved for the foals as these cracks were large enough to swallow them whole. The roof was filled with similar holes but the occasional rainwater drained away through these cracks once it had filled the remains of what used to be a fountain that the herd used for drinking water.
You saw the nummie pile and perked up. Sometimes Smarty would pick out the bestest nummies from the pile! It was mostly wilting leaves and mouthfuls of grass, but tucked within were seeds and nuts that would get sweeter with every passing day. Your mouth watered at the idea. To your massive disappointment your daddeh turned away from the pile and towards the entrance tunnel where a small group of fluffies waited.
“Babbeh am cum get nummies wif’ hewd.” Smarty finally spoke.
“Wha’?!” You had never left the building you called home. The world was dangerous for a colt like you, only a little over half your daddeh’s size.
Smarty nodded. “Babbeh nee’ knu how get nummies. Smawty nu wan’ babbeh gu hungwy.” He waved a hoof and began to lead the group out of the tunnel while you trotted at his side.
“Buh oddah fwuffies ge’ nummies fo’ Bestest!” You protested.
“Nu awways.” He didn’t look as he spoke to you, watching the growing light ahead of him. “Babbeh might nee’ get own nummies. Maybeh fo’ wittow whiwe, maybeh fo’ wong time. Daddeh nee’ teach yu.”
“Buh Daddeh-” You were silenced by a firm bop to the top of the head.
“Fiwst wuwe. Nee’ be quiet.”
Your ears flattened to your head as you silently followed.
“‘Nuddah wuwe. Du wha’ Daddeh say. Daddeh says wun, yu wun. Daddeh say hide, yu hide. Nu hab time to awgue ousside.”
You nodded silently. Your stomach churned with fear and excitement.
Smarty stuck his head through the small exit of the tunnel, blocking the light and leaving you in darkness for a moment. When the light returned you saw his tail disappear into the light.
“Cum, babbeh. Am safe.” His hoof formed a sharp silhouette against the harsh daylight.
You stuck your head out into the blinding light, squinting in an attempt to see anything at all. Teeth grabbed your scruff and pulled you out onto an itchy, crunchy floor. After a moment of blinking your eyes began to adjust to the world.
It was so big. Everything went on forever and ever and ever. Huge buildings stood shattered and twisted in the remains of their weaker kin. The cracked black roads stretched out perpendicular to you in either direction as far as you can see.
“Suuuu big!” You chirped.
Smarty nodded with a smile as the rest of the small herd squeezed out behind you. “Dis am ousside. Dewe am wots an’ wots, su stay cwose tu Daddeh.”
You nodded, getting your hooves under you. The ground was crunchy and covered in flat yellow hairs. You tried to examine them but noticed Smarty beginning to lead the herd away and ran to catch up with him.
It was so hard to stay quiet. You were surrounded by a world of new sights, smells, sounds, even feelings. Questions burned on your tongue and you felt like if you didn’t swallow them down they would build up until they began to shoot out your horn.
Smarty seemed to notice your strain. “Dis am safey pwace, babbeh can tawk if quiet.”
This triggered an endless flow of “wha’ am?”. You learned that the crunchy stuff was dead grass, something that could be eaten but was better for nest building. You learned that the path Smarty was following was called the blackrock and would usually run in straight lines that made it easy to remember the way home. The wooshing noise that ruffled your fluff was called wind and could be as gentle as a nuzzle or pick up fluffies and throw them. Sometimes it would bring the rain you’d seen falling through the holes in your home. It was so much to take in, and you drank down the information like water. There was so much more to the world than you had ever seen.
After many questions Smarty said you had to be quiet again.
“Smawty onwy hab da home. Ousside nu am Smawty’s wand. Nee’ tu be sneaky.”
And sneaky you were. A few of the nummie finders went on ahead, waving back to the herd that it was safe to continue. It felt like you walked forever, beginning to huff and puff while Smarty continued on unbothered. Your hooves ached, your tongue was dry, and you wanted nothing more than to lay down and nap but the herd continued on. Eventually you smelled something weird. Sour and oddly sweet in a way that made your lips curl and stomach churn.
“Dat am nummie pwace.” Smarty answered your silent question. “Awwmost dewe babbeh, wittow wongew.”
You nodded, though internally you wondered why he would look for nummies in such a horrible smelling place.
The herd turned a corner where they saw the scouts holding up a loose section of chain link fence. Smarty squeeze under it with you close behind him. The two of you stood to take in the view while the rest of the herd entered.
The smell was overpowering, a distraction from the multicolored piles of garbage that dwarfed even the largest members of the herd. There was just so many things you were totally unfamiliar with, things that tugged on parts of your mind but were unfamiliar.
“Dis am nummie pwace.” Smarty said. “Dis am pwace whewe wotsa hewds cum, su yu am gun’ be wookout.”
You cocked your head in a silent question.
“Yu sit on high ting-” he pointed a hoof at a flat spot on top of one of the piles, “-an’ yeww if yu see anyting.”
You nodded, happy to be given a place to rest. It was a rough climb, you watched one of the scouts deftly climb another of the hills. You weren’t sure if he was just better at it or if he had an easier hill to get up, either way you gave him an envious glare as you heaved yourself onto the very top.
Your eyes widened as you took in the view, you felt like you could see everything from up here! If only you were a pegasus, then you could fly off this and properly explore! You sat down on a soft black thing, feeling the exhaustion in your legs. As your head rested on your hooves you unintentionally fell asleep, thinking of soaring around the sky to play with the wind.
You stretched your hooves, blinking in the warm orange light. It took a moment for you to realize where you were. The light had changed, you could see it coming from a large reddish ball sitting on the horizon that hurt your eyes to look at.
You turned to the other hill and saw no fluffy sitting on top of it. You’d heard your daddeh complaining about lazy scouts sneaking off on the job and rolled your eyes. This, clearly, was something you’d need to alert him to as the good lookout you were. Just a few steps down the hill the garbage shifted under you.
“Eeeeeeeeee!!” With a screech you slid with the rest of the landslide, tumbling head over hooves. When you came to a stop it took a moment for your head to stop spinning. You felt some sort of goop all over you but when you lifted your hoof to wipe it off your face nothing happened. You were buried in the garbage up to your neck, with some of it braced against the back of your head ready to bury you.
“HEWP! HEWP! DADDEH!” you wailed. “NU WAN’ BE BUWWIED!! HEEEEEEEWP HUU HUU HUU!!” You waited for a moment in silence for your daddeh to come rescue you.
But he didn’t.
“HEEEEEEWP!! BESTEST AM STUUUUUCK!! HUU HUUUUUUUUUU!!”
Again, only the light gusts of wind replied to you.
You sobbed, wondering why no one was coming to help you. Back home the second you started crying the nearest fluffy would rush to hug you, even if it meant dropping another foal. You were the bestest! Fluffies should be helping you get out of this icky place!!
“HEEEEEEWP!!”
Your daddeh was so dummeh to leave you here. No, he was dummeh to come here in the first place! If he had just let other fluffies bring you nummies you wouldn’t be in this situation! He needed to save you, and apologize, and clean you, and give you the bestest nummies!!
“HEEEEWP!! DADDEEEEEEHHHH!!!” you howled.
You continued sobbing between screams, lamenting the situation others got you in. The light was fading and you didn’t know what that meant. Would it be gone forever? At home the light appeared at the beginning of the bright time and left at the beginning of the dark time but you didn’t know what rules it followed in the outside. How would you find your way home in the darkness? What if there were monsters? Or mean fluffies? Or monster fluffies?!
You saw movement in the shadow of one of the hills and fell silent in fear. It didn’t look like your daddeh, yellow and green and slowly making its way towards you. You began to chirp in fear, squishing your eyes shut so the monster didn’t see you.
You felt the garbage shift and began to tremble. You couldn’t decide what was worse, getting eaten by the monster or buried by the garbage. You didn’t want either of those! You wanted your daddeh!
Then the weight against the back of your head lifted. You cracked open one eye to see yellow legs next to you. Looking up was a yellow fluffy with a strange green band around her body.
She met your terrified gaze as she carefully shifted the garbage. “Am yu huwt?”
“Huuu… am icky…” you whined.
“Su nu huwties.” She said disdainfully.
After a bit more scrabbling around you felt her teeth close on your scruff and slowly pull you from your hole. You chirped in fear as you felt the garbage slide again, but then you were free!
She released you and you laid miserably on the ground. “Weggies wowk?”
You flexed each one of them in turn, happy to have them under your control. “Yus, nee’ huggies!”
She dodged your outstretched hooves. “Nu touch. Yu am icky.”
You pouted. No one has ever refused yo hug you! Who did this mean mare think she was? “Nee’ huggies! Nee’ daddeh!!”
“Nu knu yu daddeh.”
Your jaw dropped. Everyone knows your daddeh. “Wai nu knu Daddeh?! Am Smawty!!”
“Dewe am wotsa smawties.” She replied cooly.
“Nu, Smawty am onwy Smawty in hewd!”
“Dewe am wotsa hewds.”
This made you chew your lip unhappily. Daddeh did mention other herds, but why would they have a smarty? There was only your daddeh, they were dummeh herds. Maybe this mare was dummeh.
“Bwing Bestest bak tu daddeh!” You ordered as you got to your hooves.
At the mention of your name she rolled her eyes. “Nu knu yu daddeh, fin’ him yu sewf.”
With that she turned and started trotting away. You stood slack jawed in shock for a moment. How dare she tell you no?! Didn’t she know who you were?!
“BWING BESTEST TU DADDEH NAO! NAONAONAONAONAO!!” your face squished up in rage as you stomped your hooves. When you looked up you were alone again.
The shadows were growing longer and longer by the minute. Your bravado drained away quickly at the idea of being stuck here in the dark.
“Daddeh?! Whew am yu??” You called out.
Nothing replied.
You trotted in an anxious circle. You couldn’t see the loose fence or the blackrock path that led home. You didn’t see anyone from your herd either. You didn’t know what to do.
“Meanie mawe?” You swallowed your pride heavily. “Bestest need hewp…”
There was a long anxious silence before you heard a heavy sigh. The yellow and green mare appeared from behind the mass of garbage once again.
“Nu can hewp fin’ yu daddeh nao, it am awmost dawk time. Nee’ guud sweepies, wiww wook next bwite time.”
“Otay, meanie mawe.”
She shot him a harsh look. “Nu am meanie mawe. Am Yuzu, caww Yuzu dat one mowe time an’ yu sweep in ickies awone.”
You yelped in fear. “Sowwy Yuzu! Nu du ‘gain!”
You scurried after her as she walked away, equal parts grateful and terrified.
Context
This is a continuation of Seeking a Fluffy for the End of the World. It’s not completely necessary to read that to understand this one though.