It rained the entire bright time and some of the next, leaving the two of you with lots of time to talk.
Yuzu told you about everything. Streets and shops and saferooms, trash and toys and TV, friends and food and family. Yuzu knew everything about the old world. It felt like the sort of stories about skettiland the old mares would tell when someone went forever sleepies. Yuzu insisted they were true, showing you the handful of old world things the humans left behind as proof. Her flashlight was your favorite. The humans had harnessed a tiny brightball and put it into the little black tube, Yuzu could control it with the switch as long as she fed it special cylinders she found in the nummie place.
There were some topics she shied away from. She would talk about her life as a domestic fluffy but no details about her human mummah. She also refused to talk about anything to do with how the world got this way or how she went from a beloved pet to a solo survivor. This frustrated you, but you didn’t want her to stop talking so you let it go. She was also secretive about the box she kept her nummies in. You could smell something delicious, something you’d never smelled before in there but Yuzu denied having anything beyond dried leaves and grass in there.
As the rain let up Yuzu repacked her backpack and wrapped it around herself, pressing her side against one of the windows to secure the velcro.
“Otay, whewe am yu homesie?” Yuzu asked, leading you out into the now damp world.
“Daddeh am at nummie pwace!” You pointed with a hoof to where you were pretty sure the two of you came from.
Yuzu looked away, scanning the horizon. “It hab been two bwite times, yu Daddeh nu am dewe nu mowe.”
“How Yuzu knu??”
She sighed softly. “Nu smawt fwuffy stay in dump wen wain.”
That made sense to you. No fluffy liked to get wet, so maybe he went home.
“Bestest… nu knu whewe home is.” You confessed. “Daddeh nebah take Bestest ousside befow…”
“Hm.” Yuzu turned back to study you, scraping her hoof through the mud idly. “Maybeh fwuffy wetwace hoofsteps? We stawt at dump an’ gu backwawds?”
You nodded happily. You could do that! If your daddeh could do it so could you!
The pair of you walked back to the dump together. The world had changed some because of the rain. The ground on either side of the blackrock was muddy and there were large puddles to navigate through. Yuzu just walked right through some of the shallower ones which impressed you. All fluffies feared water but she was by far the bravest fluffy you’d ever met. She showed you all the little green sprouts in the cracks of the blackrock that would become leafy nummies in a few days.
“Dis am bestest weafy nummies.” She pointed to a plant with three leaves sprouting off the end.
“Wha’ am?” You asked, sniffing at it. It did smell good, not as good as the seed nummies or whatever you smelled in the truck.
“Cwobah nummies!” She crouched down to nose a few of the leaves out of the crack. “Yuzu gib yu sum dat am aww dwy. Dwy nummies wast wongah, buh fwuffy num. Hab bestest nummies wen fwest.”
You nibbled one of the leaves, eyes widening as you chewed. It was lightly sweet with a flavor that made you take a second bite without thinking. Most of the leaves you had from your herd’s nummie pile were wilted and soft, this had a crisp crunch to it. You looked up at Yuzu in amazement and she laughed.
“Fwuffy weawwy am inside fwuffy!” She chuckled. “Dewe am su many nummies onwy guud fwesh, if see Yuzu show yu!”
You excitedly trotted next to her all the way to the dump, asking questions about everything you came across. She not only knew all the plants, she knew their names and how they tasted and when they were at their best. She talked about things you couldn’t even conceive of, that the world would ever so slowly change.
“It am spwing nao, fwuffy mus’ be bown end of wintew. Oddah fwuffy caww cowd times.” explained Yuzu.
Winter was something you’d have to ask your daddeh about. Yuzu said she spent each of these strange seasons in different dens. The truck was the most sheltered, partially underground and lined with dry grass and fabric scraps so best for the cold nights of winter.
“Wen Yuzu gu ‘way den?” You asked.
“Yuzu weab aftah fin’ fwuffy’s hewd.” She replied. “Yuzu wan’ weab oddah day buh wain nu guud fo’ wawkies.”
You nodded. Yuzu was so smart. You’d miss her while she was gone but maybe you could convince her to stay with your herd next winter. Her nest was very warm, but not as warm as your whole herd wrapped around you.
You arrived at the dump, nose wrinkling from the smell. It was less strong after the rain but still distinct and disgusting.
“Awwight, whewe fwuffy cum fwom?” Yuzu asked.
You looked around, unsure until you saw the big green rectangle your herd turned at. You lifted your hoof to point the direction but then hesitated.
“Uhm…” You glanced over your shoulder to the broken bit of the fence. “Mabeh… wook fo’ Daddeh a wittow?”
“Nu.” Yuzu said firmly, stepping to block your view of the dump. “Yu nee’ gu home.”
“Buh wha’ if Daddeh nee’ hewp?!”
“Den…” Yuzu looked around. “Den nee’ toughie fwuffies. Am owd, yu am wittow. If nu am at yu home, send oddah fwuffies tu gu wook.”
You glanced over at the dump one last time. “…Otay. Fwuffies cum fwom dat way.”
And so the two of you worked to retrace your path. As it had been two days and you had only ever traveled outside the building once you had to occasionally go back and try another direction but you did eventually see the square concrete building you left. It felt so much longer than two days, but finally you were about to be home again!
As you got close enough to see the now less dead grass outside the small hole in the rubble you began to run. You could hear Yuzu calling for you but you didn’t care. You dove into the hole, scampering through the dark path without letting your eyes adjust. The stones scraped across your back but it didn’t matter. You could see your herd in your mind waiting for you, your daddeh and mummah sitting anxiously by the nummie pile wondering where you were. You’d burst out of the path and run to their open hooves, where they’d hug you tightly and tell you how much they loved you.
Tears pricked your eyes as you saw the faint glow of the end of the tunnel. You urged your hooves to move you faster, ignoring the ache in your hoof pads.
You launched yourself out of the end, skidding to a stop in front of where the nummie pile should be. It seemed to have been knocked over, the tasty seeds and nuts that should have been safely tucked away in the center were scattered across the filthy floor.
It was also oddly quiet in the space. No mummah songs, no foals chirping, no laughing, no games being played. You looked around to see where everyone was.
And then you saw her.
Standing near the entrance to the foalplace was a woman. A human. You knew it in your heart having never seen one before. She had her long dark mane tied back and a pack similar to Yuzu’s on her back.
A human. A real, live human! They had come back for you! You knew deep down in your heart that she would take you to her home; a warm safe place like Yuzu told you about and love you forever. Your breath caught in your throat as she turned her back to you. You opened your mouth to call out to her, to ask for love hugs and a name, toys and treats and blankets.
Something slammed into you, knocking the wind out of you. Before you could protest you were whisked away to a pile of rubble in the corner, a yellow hoof shoved into your mouth. Yuzu. You struggled under her, didn’t she know that there were humans right there???
“You find anything else?” The nice lady said.
“An old mare, not worth butchering.” A mister’s voice replied.
Two humans?! Yuzu could have a new human as well! How lucky! You tried to explain this to her but could only make muffled grunts with her gagging you. Her eyes were fixed on them over the rubble pile so there was no way she didn’t see them. Why was she holding you down?! Didn’t she want to have a nice home??
“I think the foals wiggled into this crack here.” The mister continued. “No idea where they ended up, probably just stuck in the foundation somewhere.”
“Then it’s not worth it. We have enough.” The nice lady said. “Take these and let’s go meet up with Grant.”
“You think Emma will let us roast one? I’m kinda sick of soup.”
You struggled under Yuzu as their voices got fainter and fainter. They were getting away! You bit down on her hoof, hoping she would squeal and release you but you only got a low grunt and a metallic taste in your mouth.
It was only after the silence in the building began to ring in your ears that Yuzu released you. You scrambled to your hooves and raced off to where you last saw the woman. You prayed she had waited, that there was some way you could catch up to here but as you entered the foalplace she was gone. You couldn’t even see how they managed to leave, all the ways out of the foalplace were far too high for you to even consider them an exit.
Your rump plopped down onto the cold concrete as your lip began to tremble. The humans were right there! You could have had a loving new mummah!
“Fwuffy-” Yuzu’s voice behind you turned your grief to rage in an instant.
“WAI NU WET BESTEST GU TO NICE WADY?!” you roared as you spun to her. “BESTEST WOUWD HAB HUGGIES AN’ WUB AN’ BESTEST NYU MUMMAH!”
“Dat nu am-”
“AN’ WAI WIE TO BESTEST?! YU SAY HOOMANS GU ‘WAY BUH DEWE DEY AWE? WAI?!”
“WOOK AWOUND YU, DUMMEH!” Yuzu snapped. “Du dis wook wike wha’ nice wady du??”
You did, seeing the smears of blood for the first time. It was everywhere, puddles and pools and trails of hoofprints connecting them. You’d seen blood before, from little scrapes and bruised noses, but nothing like this.
And then you saw her. A pile of dull pink fluff against the wall. Yuzu was talking but you didn’t hear her as your hooves carried you slowly to what remained of Frosting. Kind, sweet Frosting. She didn’t even look like a fluffy anymore, her body was all twisted up in ways a fluffy should never be. Sharp corners of bones formed peaks under her fluff and her mane was ripped partially off in a long, bloody strip.
“Hey.” Yellow fluff filled your watery vision. “Nu wook. ‘Membah how fwuffy wuz, how fwuffy wuz when awibe.”
“Fwosting…” you whispered.
“Fwosting. ‘Membah how Fwosting wuz.” Yuzu’s hooves wrapped around you tightly for a moment before she began to herd you back to the entry tunnel.
