Uphie had a lot of heawt happies today. It was the first time she had felt so much heawt happies in a while. She spent the morning thinking that mummah was going to make her play with Mistah Wok Wagon for Hwappy Cwoins again, but mummah told her that they were going to a ranch for a party. Uphie didn’t know what a ranch was, but she did know what a party was, as mummah used to hold Uphie biwthday pawties. She remembered that these pwaty had bright colors, happy music, lots of toysies, tasty nummies and so much fun. More importantly, if mummah was willing to throw Uphie a party did that mean that mummah loved Uphie again?
There was another point to support this notion. Mummah had given her a new Fluffy carrier. She called it an ECC. It was bigger than her Fluffy carrier and a lot more comfier and a lot cozier with the soft floor and the fuzzy walls that smelled so nice, plus this ECC was so much warmer. It made the ride in the vroom vroom munstah so much more pleasant, as well as the company she kept more agreeable.
She looked at her fellow occupants: Pwie and Gweenie Wewe. Her babbehs were both inside the ECC with her. She had come to dislike both her foals. Pwie was still her bestest babbeh, but she did not like how Pwie still caused her trouble. She still remembered that time when Pwie made bad poopies and made mummah so angry that she took Uphie’s Hwappy Cowins. That was such a bad day and Uphie remembered feeling the worstest heawt hurties. She had put so much effort into earning those two Hwappy Cwoins, but lost them thanks to Pwie being a dummeh babbeh.
However, Pwie was not as bad in comparison to Gweenie Wewe. Gweenie Wewe really was the worstest babbeh ever. She remember last darkie time when mummah showed Uphie the new safe room. Gweenie Wewe had that castle with all the toysie and that nice bed, while Uphie just had her dummeh Fwuffy cawwiew with a boring nummie bowl and littew boxie. Gweenie Wewe had stolen her safe room, stolen her toysies, stolen her nummies and most importantly had stolen her mummah.
Uphie glared at Gweenie Wewe. She wanted to give her dummeh babbeh worstest hurties, but as she looked out the bars of the ECC, she saw Gwasses mummah, or Gwem gwem as mummah called her, in the vroom vroom munstah mirror. Gwasses mummah wasn’t looking at her, but her very presence made Uphie nervous. Uphie could still remember their conversation. It was just after Uphie had wakies, while mummah was still making morning nummies. Gwasses mummah had asked Uphie a simple question: Why do you dislike Veve?
She had given Gwasses mummah her best answer, explaining how Gweenie Wewe was a bad babbeh who stole all her stuff, but then Gwasses mummah started asking so many difficult questions. Something about how did Gweenie Wewe managed to steal all her stuff, things about whether Uphie paid Hwappy Cwoins for all that stuff. Uphie really didn’t like it when Gwasses mummah started bringing up Uphie running away and at some point she began pleading to Gwasses mummah to stop all the questions, because it was giving her so many heawt hurties and made her feel so guilty. In the end Gwasses mummah stopped, but only after Uphie promised to only give Gweenie Wewe huggies and love, and no hurties.
“Gweenie Wewe wan huggies n wuv?” Uphie said aloud, hoping that Gwasses mummah heard.
Gweenie Wewe looked so happy and nodded as she scampered to her mummah. Uphie tried her best to hide her frown. Sure it looked cute and sure it made Uphie a little happy how much Gweenie Wewe wanted huggies and wuv from her, but such feelings paled in comparison to the disgust that Uphie felt for this little thief. However, she dared not break her promise to Gwasses mummah, so she pushed down her disgust and picked up Gweenie Wewe, giving the foal a gentle hug.
Gweenie Wewe made happy coo-ing noises. Delightful squeals that annoyed Uphie. Gweenie Wewe did not deserve such kindness. Not this dummeh thief, but Uphie had no choice and could only sigh, as she noticed Pwie looking down glumly. It was unfair to just give Gweenie Wewe a hug, so she picked up Pwie and hugged her other foal too. She could hear Pwie making happy squeaks, which made her a bit happy. She had to admit, this was kind of nice. Hugging both her babbehs.
Uphie looked out of the ECC, wondering if anyone had seen her being a good mummah. Dummeh daddeh and Oddah dummeh daddeh, the one who made her go into the scary boxie last bright time, were in the front part of the vroom vroom munstah, while mummah and Gwasses mummah were on her sides, but none of them said anything about Uphie being a good mummah. They were just talking to each other, ignoring Uphie. It made Uphie sad, and the Fluffy mare scooted to the back of the ECC.
Mummah was taking her to a party and had given her this ECC, but it really didn’t feel like mummah was back to loving Uphie. Uphie still felt unwanted. She tugged on her diapers, they were still tight and felt so itchy on her rear. She wished mummah would take them off. They did not feel nice and made Uphie feel like a baby. Suddenly Uphie remembered something. Didn’t mummah say that there were other Fluffies in the party? What would they say if they say Uphie in diapers?! Uphie began to panic.
“M…mummah! Can mummah tak way Uwpee diapew!”
Mummah did not respond. She was still talking to Oddah dummeh daddeh. Uphie pouted, as she tapped the ECC gate.
“Mummah! Y nu wisten tu Uwpee! Pwease take Uwpee diapew away!”
Still no response. Mummah was talking to Dummeh daddeh.
“Mumma…”
“Uphie, be quiet” came a voice, interrupting her.
That was mummah’s voice. Finally she had responded. Uphie felt relief at finally being acknowledge, but it hurt being told to be quiet.
“Bu mumma…”
“You don’t like the diaper?” Came another voice.
Uphie tensed up. That was Gwasses mummah. She really didn’t like it when Gwasses mummah asked her questions, but she also really didn’t like the diapers, so she mustered all her courage to respond.
“Uw… Uwpee nu wike diawpew”
“Why not?”
“Diawpew mak Uwpee feew wike babbeh. Nu wan oddah Fwuffies caww Uwpee babbeh.”
“I thought you wanted to be your mama’s forever baby.”
Uphie began to panic. She did want to be mama’s forever baby, but at the same time she didn’t want the diaper. She fell silent trying to figure out what to say. However, she could not figure out what to say. Gwasses mummah always asked such difficult questions.
“Uphie?” Gwasses mummah asked again.
Uphie could not reply. She only made a pained whimper.
“Mummah am nut babbeh!” A voice suddenly interjected.
Uphie looked in disbelief. It was Pwie.
“Oh? She is not mummah’s forever baby?”
“Dat wite!” Pwie announced.
Dummeh daddeh and Oddah dummeh daddeh laughed, and Uphie glared at Pwie. How dare her babbeh say that. Uphie began to panic. She needed to fix this.
“Dummeh Pwie dun nu wat saying. Uwpee am mummah’s foebah babbeh!”
She noticed Pwie looking shocked at being called a dummeh and it looked like Pwie was going to say something, but Uphie glared at her foal and Pwie quickly backed down, looking very scared and backing away against as Uphie continued to stare at her angrily.
“So you are a baby?” Gwasses mummah asked.
“Dat wite!” Uphie cried out.
“So there should be no problem wearing a diaper, right?”
Uphie was once again left speechless. Gwasses mummah was so annoying and so difficult to argue with. Uphie hated it, but she had nothing to say, so she could only shuffle deeper into the ECC, as Dummeh daddeh and Oddah dummeh daddeh laughed. Whatever heawt happies were gone and she could only look down glumly as the Oddah dummeh daddeh began talking to Gwasses mummah or mummah. A few tears began to fall from her see places and Uphie could not help but sob. She hoped that mummah would feel sorry for her once she started crying, but her sobs were drowned out by the sound of all the talking.
“M… Mummah oke?” asked Gweenie Wewe
Uphie glared at her. The dummeh thief. Trying to be a good babbeh now, huh?
“Gib bac mummah” Uphie replied with a snarl.
Gweenie Wewe gave her a scared looked and backed away. Uphie scoffed and noticed Pwie giving her a mean look. That made Uphie all the more angry.
“Wat yu wooking at dummeh Pwie!” Uphie shouted.
Pwie looked horrified at being called a dummeh and as she backed away, Uphie noticed that Pwie looked like she was going to cry, which made Uphie feel guilty, but that guilt quickly turned into fear when she heard the sound of someone hitting the top of the ECC.
“Uphie stop making a racket”
It was mummah’s voice and she sounded angry. Uphie quickly fell silent, as she dared not make mummah angry again, only capable of making low whimpering noises. She noticed Pwie and Gweenie babbeh on the other side of the ECC, near the gate. Both foals looked miserable as they sat on opposite corners. It did make Uphie feel a little guilty.
“Pwie… Gweenie Wewe. Com hewe fo huggies”
Gweenie Wewe immediately scampered to her, clearly overjoyed that she had regained her mummah’s love and began nuzzling Uphie. However, Uphie noticed Pwie looking hesitant and glum.
“Pwie com hewe fo huggies” Uphie called out softly.
Pwie did not move, making Uphie feel all the more guilty and she pushed Gweenie Wewe aside as she crawled towards Pwie, giving Pwie a little nuzzle.
“Uwpee am sowwi Pwie” She whispered “Nu mean tu caww Pwie dummeh.”
Pwie did not not respond. She only turned away, which made Uphie feel all the more horrible. Meanwhile, Gweenie Wewe had begun tapping Uphie asking for attention, which really annoyed Uphie.
“Am sowwi Pwie” Uphie once again pleaded “Uwpee nu mean tu caww…”
Uphie was interrupted by the sound of someone tapping the top of the ECC again.
“We’re here Uphie” came mummah’s voice.
Uphie felt the vroom vroom munstah stop and the sound of the vroom vroom munstah doors open as everyone left, and then she felt the ECC lift up as mummah picked it up. Uphie backed away to the rear of the ECC as she felt the coldie hurties from outside, and both Pwie and Gweenie Wewe scampered to her sides, nuzzling her as they tried to keep warm. Uphie stayed silent. She was a little bit excited at the idea that they were at the party, but she felt more concerned with regaining Pwie’s trust, as well as her mummah’s affection. However, right now she was just more curious about her surroundings. From the ECC’s gate, she could see the outside. It seemed they were in front of some big housie, and there were another man, but she could not see any Fluffies, and the man was giving her a dirty look.
“Sorry folks.” The man said “Not sure where you heard about us, but this is an abuse box event".
“Yeah. We know. We’re friends with Paise” Oddah dummeh daddeh replied.
“Um… I see?”
Uphie looked at the man curiously. She had no idea what they were all talking about, but she could see the man giving her weird looks.
“Ah!” Oddah dummeh daddeh suddenly said “Yeah! Sorry! Bringing the EEC is kinda weird I get it, but we don’t want anyone touching this Fluffy and y’know Cleveland Act and such… Uh… Tell you what. How about I call Paise and ask him to come over.”
“Yes please I’d really appreciate that”.
Oddah started talking to someone else and then suddenly another man came in. A tall handsome mistah with a big smile and a hearty laugh
“Haaaaaanssssss!” The man said loudly.
Uphie scooted back to the end of the ECC. She did not like how loud this man was talking. The man saw this and gave her a friendly smile.
“Ah so this is Uphie, right?” The man asked.
Uphie stepped closer to the gate timidly and nodded shyly “Hewwo mistah. Am Uwpee” she stated quietly.
The man laughed again. Not a mean one, but a hearty kind and he still had that friendly smile, the kind that was able to put Uphie at ease. Uphie laid down next to the ECC gate feeling much better. The hooman was such a nice friendly mistah, so surely this was going to be a fun party. Uphie began to feel very excited at the prospect that she was soon going to be playing with other Fluffies and maybe, just maybe, mummah would be nice to her after seeing how cute she was playing with other Fluffies. Heck maybe this nice man could help teach mummah how to be nice again.
Such sentiments quickly disappeared when she realized the true nature of the party. Yes there was other Fluffies, but there was definitely no fun. They were still on the outside part of the house and Uphie could see many hoomans. There was loud music, and a lot of smiles and laughing, but anytime a hooman looked at her, they would either give her a mean look or a scary smile. More importantly were all the Fluffies. None were enjoying themselves. They were all just trying to survive.
Mummah put the ECC on some table and Uphie watched as a bunch of Fluffies running around some big garden. To her sides she could just about see hoomans holding weird toys. She didn’t know what the toys did, but the hoomans were pointing it at the Fluffies and every now and then, the toys would make weird soft pop noises, but it was doing something that hurt the Fluffies, because Uphie could see the Fluffies screaming and she could see boo boo juice coming out from one of the closer Fluffies. One of the Fluffies had come up and began pleading for the hoomans to stop, but all the hoomans began pointing their toys at the Fluffy and next thing Uphie knew, the Fluffy was screaming as little holes began appearing, causing tons of boo boo juice to come out. Uphie immediately screamed as she backed away deeper into the ECC. Next to her, she could see Pwie and Gweenie babbeh looking at her in terror.
“Wat… wat wong mummah?” Pwie asked.
“M… Mummah?” Veve added.
Uphie just looked at them with fear and notice Pwie walking towards the ECC. Uphie quickly scooped up both her foals up and kept them close to her face. She dared not let them see what was going on.
“Pwease gib mummah huggies” Uphie orderly softly.
The two foals agreed, nuzzling their mummah and Uphie could feel them shivering. She too was scared, and the comfort of her foals did very little to make Uphie feel better. She had begun to realize that this was not a party. This was just all one big hurtie game.
Suddenly the ECC began to move and was placed somewhere new. Uphie now had a view of a table and two Fluffy mares. They were giving each other sorry hoofies while hoomans cheered. The hoomans did not look nice. They all looked mean and had such scary smiles as the Fluffy mares continued giving each other hurties. Both Fluffy mares were screaming “hate chu” to each other and making such horrible screams. They both had so many hurties and so much boo boo juice. Suddenly one mare slipped and the other mare landed both hooves on her face, giving the fallen mare forever sleepies. Some hoomans cheered louder, but some other hoomans seemed upset. Meanwhile, the mare that was still alive, looked very tired, but managed to make a weak smile.
“Wock… Wock win… Pwease gib babbeh bac”
Some hooman tossed Wock a foal. It was a dead foal. Wock looked horrified. She let out a horrid wail, as she was dragged away, contrasting the cruel laughs of the hoomans.
Uphie tried to back further into the EEC. She continued keeping her foals close to her face, as fear overcame her. This place was worse than the forest, worse than her time with the big herd and worse the her new life in her housie with mummah. Why did mummah bring her here? Why did mummah trick her? Uphie did not know, but currently she was having a silent freak out. Her survival instincts were going onto overdrive. She wanted to run, but she was trapped inside this EEC, so the only thing she could think to do was keep extremely quiet. Try to avoid attracting attention. Thinking that if she was kept quiet enough, hopefully the hoomans wouldn’t do horrid things to her.
The hoomans didn’t do horrid things to her, but she did see a lot of horrid things. There was a line of crying Fluffies with nummies bowls in from of them. Inside the bowls were dead foals, and a Hooman said that the first to finish their nummie bowl won a prize. She watched as all the Fluffies began to eat the foals slowly. Some stopped after the first bite and froze, other made sickie wawas. All of them crying and pleading the hoomans for mercy. Uphie clung to her own foals tighter, scared at the idea that she too might have been forced to eat her own babbehs.
She watched a stallion proudly announce that he was a Smarty, only to be reduced to a sobbing blubbering mess after a bunch of hoomans began hitting him with sorry sticks from all sides. The stallion was forced to make bad poopies and eat them, as well as forced to call himself a poopie Fwuffy. Then the hoomans kept hitting the Smarty, until he stopped screaming. They left, and Smarty laid on the ground only making chirpy noises, as another hooman took him away.
Another scene was the sight of hoomans throwing foals into some holes in some wall. The foals were very much alive and kept saying that they were “onwy wittle babbehs” or “fwuffies am onwy fo huggies and wuv” as the hooman picked them up, and were only able to make loud screeches as they were flung through the air. Uphie looked at Pwie and Gweenie babbeh. Both her foals could not see what was going on, but they could very much hear and they were looking terrified. Uphie began comforting them.
“Nu scawdies babbehs, Mummah pwotecc” Uphie declared hesitantly.
She said that, but deep in her mind, she thought about giving Gweenie Wewe away so that these meanie munstah hoomans would spare her and Pwie.
“Wanna go somewhere else?” a voice suddenly asked.
It was Gwasses mummah’s voice. Uphie looked out of the ECC to see Gwasses mummah’s face. It was cold and uncaring, but it brought Uphie a sense of familiarity and ease.
“Pwease Gwasses mummah! Uwpee wan gu! No wike hewe! No wike!”
Gwasses mummah nodded and she felt Gwasses mummah pick up the ECC.
“Mimi, I’m gonna take Uphie for a bit.” Came Gwasses mummah’s voice.
“K Grem grem.” Came mummah’s voice.
“Han. Let’s go” Gwasses mummah said.
“Follow me” Came Oddah dummeh daddeh’s voice.
Uphie felt the ECC moving and she could see that they were following Oddah dummeh daddeh. They walked passed many other hoomans and many other suffering Fluffies, and they entered the big housie. All the sounds of Fluffy screaming, hoomans laughing and the music blaring, slowly drowned down as Gwasses mummah brought Uphie deeper into the housie. Uphie sighed in relief. She felt safer now. It would seem that Gwasses mummah was taking her somewhere away from all the horrors. Maybe Gwasses mummah was not as much of a meanie as she thought.
That thought quickly perished as Gwasses mummah took her into a dark hallway. She could not see the Fluffies, but she could hear the wails of many Fluffies and a couple Fluffies begging to be let out. Uphie saw a hooman lady. She looked kind of scary and was sat behind some table.
“Hi!” Oddah dummeh daddeh said “Hello, I’m Hans. Not sure if Paise mentioned us coming here.”
“Oh yes!” the hooman lady replied politely “Paise gave me the details. Uphie thing, right? Follow me, I’ll get her for ya folks”.
“Thank you!” said Oddah dummeh daddeh.
Gwasses mummah brought the ECC to a very scary room. It was a big room and the walls were filled with sorry boxes. Each sorry box had a Fluffy. All looking terrible. Some were quiet. Some were angry. Some were crying. Some pleaded for Gwasses mummah to help them leave, while other hit the bars of the sorry box. Uphie scooted back. She really did not like this place and she really did not like that Gwasses mummah brought her here. She looked out and saw Gwasses mummah staring at her. That cold and uncaring face no longer felt so nice.
“Do you know why no one is hurting you right now?” Gwasses mummah asked.
Uphie shook her head timidly, unsure what Gwasses mummah was getting at.
Gwasses mummah taped the ECC. “This is a special box that protects all Fluffies inside. As long as you are inside, no one can hurt you… Well not without consequence at least.”
Uphie was still not sure what Gwasses mummah was getting at, but she did understand that this ECC kept Uphie safe. That was enough to allow Uphie to relax a bit, but she quickly tensed up as Gwasses mummah suddenly opened the gate.
“Y… y… Gwasses mummah open doorsie?” Uphie stammered.
Uphie saw Gwasses mummah’s hands enter the ECC and she began to panic. Gwasses mummah was pulling her out, but didn’t Gwasses mummah say that Uphie was only safe if she was in the ECC? Uphie began to scream, begging Gwasses mummah not to take her out, as she tried to grip the sides of the ECC. She could see Pwie pulling her tail, trying desperately to keep her mummah in the ECC and Gweenie Wewe was also doing the same. It touched Uphie, but it was a meaningless attempt as Gwasses mummah was too strong and pulled Uphie out.
Gwasses mummah placed Uphie onto a table and put Pwie and Greenie babbeh back into the ECC. Uphie panicked. She immediately knew this was bad and that Gwasses mummah was planning to do something mean. She tried to sneak towards the ECC, but Gwasses mummah locked the gate, and Uphie could only make a low whine as she realized that she could not get back into the ECC.
“Y… Y… Gwasses mummah tak Uwpee out?”
Gwasses mummah stared at her. Still as cold and uncaring. Uphie felt a chill on her spine. The realization that something really bad was going to happen to her. She felt herself make scardy poopies and pee pees, and a mix of embarrassment and discomfort as she felt her diapers get soiled.
“Gib mummah bac!!” She heard Pwie scream.
Uphie felt happy hearing Pwie once again defend her, but Gwasses mummah still had the cold look.
“I really do not like you, Uphie” Gwasses mummah stated.
Uphie looked at Gwasses mummah in shock. She wasn’t sure if she misheard. Gwasses mummah had said such a mean thing, but she had said it in such a calm voice that Uphie wasn’t sure if she heard it right. She stared at Gwasses mummah blankly.
“Gwasses mummah… Nu wike… Uwpee?” She asked for clarification.
“Yes” Gwasses mummah replied bluntly,
Uphie felt a sting. The way Gwasses mumah had said yes. No anger. No joy. Just a cold yes. Uphie could not help but whimper slightly, as she trembled against the unfriendly gaze of Gwasses mummah.
“Fluffies are supposed to make people happy” Gwasses mummah said “But you did not make Mimi happy. You hurt her bad and that makes you a defective good.”
Uphie looked down with a mix of confusion and shame. She knew she hurt mummah. She was a bad Fluffy, but she was trying to be a good Fluffy, she played with stupid Mistah Wok Wagon so that mummah would be happy. It was just mummah sometimes did really mean things. Also she was trying to figure out what Gwasses mummah had called her.
“Wat depectib gud?”
“It means useless. Trash. Something that needed to be replaced.”
Uphie stared at Gwasses mummah in confusion. She was not useless. She was not trash. What did Gwasses mummah mean by replace? Uphie noticed the other hooman lady next to one of the sorry boxes and she opened it. Uphie froze, thinking that she was going into the sorry box. However, the lady instead pulled out another Fluffy and placed it on the table, next to Uphie. The two Fluffies stared at each other, and Uphie could not help but notice that the Fluffy had the same beige fur as her, as well as the same blonde mane and tail, as her. The only difference was that Uphie had wingies and a different scent.
“H… Hewwo” Uphie greeted timidly “Am Uwpee.”
“Hewwo” The other Fluffy replied “Am Cookie”
“Your new name is Uphie now” Gwasses mummah replied.
Uphie and Cookie looked at Gwasses mummah in confusion.
“Bu Cookie namesie am Cookie. Uwpee iz Uwpee” Uphie replied.
Cookie nodded in agreement, but Gwasses mummah did not, she just had that same unfriendly look.
“I know her name is Cookie, but I am giving her a new name and her new name is Uphie.”
Uphie and Cookie once again looked at Gwasses mummah in confusion, then looked at each other.
“Cookie am Uwpee nao?” Uphie clarified.
Gwasses mummah nodded.
Uphie looked at Cookie, or rather New Uphie, in confusion and New Uphie looked back also confused.
“Y change namesie tu Uwpee?” Cookie, or rather New Uphie asked.
“Simple, because you are the new Uphie. I am getting rid of old Uphie and you are Uphie’s replacement.”
Uphie stared at Gwasses mummah in horror.
“WAT!?” Uphie screamed “Nyu Uwpee weplace Uwpee?!?”
Gwasses mummah nodded, and Uphie looked at her with a mix of panic and betrayal.
“Nu! Nu! Nu!” Uphie screamed.
Gwasses mummah was looking at new Uphie and pet new Uphie making Uphie feel all the more horrible.
“Are you okay with the name change?” Gwasses mummah asked New Uphie.
Uphie quickly grabbed Gwasses mummah’s arm, hugging it tightly.
“Me Uwpee! Me Uwpee!” Uphie cried.
Gwasses mummah ignored her as she continued to pet New Uphie, filling Uphie with despair.
“Me Uwpee! Me Uwpee!” Uphie cried once again.
Gwasses mummah stared at her with those cold eyes.
“Yes. You are Uphie. The Uphie that hurt Mimi. You failed your purpose to make your mama happy, so now I am having you replaced with this Uphie…”
Gwasses mummah turned to New Uphie.
“Do you think you can be a better Uphie? If you are, I’m sure you will have a very happy life.”
New Uphie glanced at Uphie slightly, before turning back to Gwasses mummah and nodding.
“Am Uwpee!” New Uphie stated.
Uphie looked at both of them with betrayal. Anger, sadness, disbelief. A whole flood of emotions.
“Nu! Nu! Nu! Am Uwpee! Am Uwpee!” Uphie cried aloud
“Nu, Uwpee am Uwpee!” New Uphie cried out.
“Shaddap dummeh. Yu nu Uwpee. Yu dummeh Cookie!” Uphie retorted
New Uphie growled “Yu dummeh! Yu huwt mummah. Nu desewve mummah, yu bad Uwpee!”
Uphie was horrified. She couldn’t believe it. This dummeh was already calling her mummah, mummah?! New Uphie was seriously planning to replace her, and Uphie grit her teeth in anger. There was no way she was going to let New Uphie take her place, not without a fight. She got into a menacing stance, when she suddenly found herself lifted off the table. It was that hooman lady. She removed Uphie from the table and brought her to Cookie, or rather New Uphie’s sorry box.
“Shall I put OLD Uphie in the cage ma’am?” The lady asked with a cruel smile.
“Yes please” Gwasses mummah replied coldly.
“Nu! Nu! Nu!” Uphie cried out.
Uphie struggled and squirm, desperately trying to break free of the meanie hooman lady’s grasp, as she was forced into the Sorry Box. She looked at the other Fluffies for help. Most were looking away, crying and more concerned with their own problem, but Uphie noticed one Fluffy looking at her with an angry look. An orange pointy Fluffy with a light blue mane & tail. One that looked oddly familiar, but Uphie did not pay that Fluffy much heed, she was more concerned with her own plight. Helpless to stop the meanie hooman lady from locking the Sorry Box door. All Uphie could do was press her face against the bars of the door and watch as Gwasses mummah put new Uphie in the ECC.
“Pwease Gwasses mummah! Pwease! Uwpee sowwi! Uwpee sowwi! Uwpee pwomise nebah gib mummah heawt hurties gain! Uwpee pwomise! Uwpee pwomise!”
Her pleas fell upon deaf ears, as new Uphie went into the ECC and Gwasses mummah left with the ECC. Only the mean Hooman lady was there.
“See ya later OLD Uphie” She said with a cruel smile.
Uphie could only break down in tears.
- Yu name iz Pwie.
- Yu dun kno wat goin on.
- Mummah sa yu gu tu pawty.
- Bu yu dun kno wat pawty iz.
- Bu mummah hwappy.
- Dat iz gud.
- Yu wike hwappy mummah.
- Yu dun wike angwy mummah.
- Wike wen yu gib worstest poopies tu munstah mummah mummah.
- Onwy gib poopies becaw mummah mummah am munstah
- Same wike nao
- Dummeh gwasses wady caww mummah, babbeh.
- Yu teww dummeh dat mummah am nut babbeh.
- Mummah am mummah, wight?
- Yu dun undewstan y mummah ge angwy at yu.
- Mummah eban caww yu dummeh.
- Yu nut dummeh!
- Mummah am dummeh!
- Yu get angwy at mummah.
- Mummah twy huggies bu yu dun wan.
- Yu dun wan huggies fwom dummeh mummah.
- Bu den yu in scawy pwace.
- Yu dun see anytin
- Bu yu hear wots Fwuffies having hurties
- Yu awso see wots of meanie hoomans.
- Yu dun wike dis pwace.
- Yu gib mummah biggest huggies.
- Dummeh gwasses wady tak yu tu scawy pwace.
- Hab wots of Fwuffies in boxie.
- Dummeh gwasses wady tak mummah.
- Yu twy sabe mummah.
- Yu heaw mummah hab tawkies wit dummeh gwasses wady.
- Yu heaw mummah scweam.
- Dummeh gwasses wady gib Fwuffy same name as mummah.
- Yu dun undewstan.
- Dummeh gwasses wady says nyu Fwuffy is yu new mummah
- Yu dun wike dat.
- Yu scweam n caww dummeh gwasses wady dummeh
- Nyu Fwuffy teww yu nut tu du dat
- Yu get angwy n caww Fwuffy dummeh.
- Fwuffy gib yu sowwy hoofies
- Fwuffy caww yu dummeh babbeh
- Yu scawd caw Fwuffy am big n hab meanie look
- Gweenie Wewe du nuthing
- Gweenie Wewe jus scawd
- Dummeh Gweenie Wewe
- Dummeh Gwasses mummah tell Fwuffy nut huwt yu n dummeh Gweenie Wewe
- Fwuffy sa otay
- Fwuffy gib yu mean look
- Yu scawd
- Yu hide behind dummeh Gweenie Wewe
- Yu dun wike dis.
- Yu see munstah mummah mummah
- Munstah mummah mummah hab scawy smile
- Yu weally dun wike dis.
Uphie was still crying when one of the Fluffies interrupted her.
“Shaddap dummeh Uwpee” The Fluffy said with a sneer.
She tried to identify who said that, feeling both hurt and angry from such rudeness. Most of the Fluffies just looked miserable, but there was one staring at her with an angry face. An orange pointy Fluffy with a light blue mane and tail. There was something familiar about this Fluffy. The look, the voice and the smell, but Uphie could not figure out why.
“Y Fwuffy am su meanie tu Uwpee, am gud Fwuffy” Uphie stated softly
“Huh?!!” The Fluffy replied incredulously “Yu nut gud Fwuffy! Yu am bad Fwuffy! Weally bad Fwuffy!”
Uphie looked at the Fluffy in shock. How could she say such a thing.
“Uwpee am nut bad Fwuffy!” Uphie cried out in dismay “Am gud Fwuffy!”
“Shaddap dummeh Uwpee, Engewy wememba yu!”
Engewy? The name sounded familiar. Uphie racked her head trying to figure out. Then it hit her. The big herd from how many forevers ago.
“Enegwy?!” Uphie cried out in disbelief
“Dat wite!” The orange Fluffy exclaimed with its head held up high.
Uphie stared at Enegwy in surprise. She had forgotten about that Fluffy, but it was nice to see a familiar face, especially in such a foreign scary place such as this. She smiled, but that smile quickly turned to a frown when she noticed Enegwy glaring at her with such an angry face.
“Enegwy nebah fowgot Uwpee” Enegwy said with a low growl.
“Y… Y Enegwy hab such meanie face?” Uphie said with fear.
“Y?! Uwpee gib bestest fwens Bwirch n Mewon foebah sweepies! Uwpee fowgot? Bu Enegwy nebah fowgot!”
Uphie eyes widen and she found herself taken aback by such accusation.
“Uwpee nu gib Bwirch n Mewon foebah sweepies!” She retorted
“Uwpee di!” Enegwy screamed “Bwirch faww in coldie wawa becaw Uwpee! Den Mewon hab worstest heawt hurties n hab forrebah sweepies. Aww Uwpee fauwt!”
“Hah!?” Uphie screamed in outrage “Dat nu Uwpee fauwt! Uwpee onwy wan weave dummeh hewd!”
“Dummeh hewd!?!” Enegwy cried out “Dat am Enegwy fwens!”
“Enegwy? Y meanie Fwuffy caww us dummehs?” Came another voice.
“Woll hab heawd namesie before” Came a third voice.
“Uwpee!” A fourth cried “Dat dummeh Fwuffy dat wike poopies!”
Suddenly a dozen voices began talking. Some belonging to the herd and some just chiming in. A clash of high pitched voices talking over each other, and seemingly getting louder each second, leaving Uphie feeling overwhelmed. She did not like this and backed away deeper in the box, but that did not spare her the judgement of Enegwy’s vengeful glare.
“Enegwy hatechu” Enegwy stated coldy “Hatechu”
Uphie began to cry. Enegwy’s angry face made her feel like a munstah, and she did not like what those other Fluffies saying. She felt herself grow angrily and pushed her face right up to the bar.
“SHADDAP!” Uphie screamed.
That really riled all the other Fluffies and they all began to scream “Hatechu, Uwpee!”over and over again.
Uphie backed away in fear. She tried to push herself as deep into the box as possible. As far from all this as possible. She closed her see places and tried to block out all the noise by covering her hear places with her hooves. She desperately wishing that this was all a bad dream, but suddenly there was a deep, blaring honk causing all the Fluffies to scream out in fear.
“SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU UGLY SHIT RATS OR I’LL KILL THE LOT OF YOU!” Came a loud, booming voice.
Everyone fell silent and at the center of the room, Uphie could see the meanie lady who had stuffed her into this sorry box. She looked really angry and she was holding a very scary stick.
“Nu wan!” One Fluffy suddenly cried out.
Uphie and all the other Fluffies watched in horror, as the woman dragged the Fluffy, who had dared to speak, out of its cage. She threw the Fluffy onto the floor and then begin mercilessly beating the poor Fluffy over and over, each hit making a loud WHACK. The Fluffy pleaded desperately for mercy, but eventually it stopped making any noise. Uphie and the other Fluffy all just watched in silence, none of them dared to say anything in front of this munstah lady. None dared to even whimper, and eventually the munstah lady stopped hitting the Fluffy.
“Anyone else want a turn?” She asked with a big scary grin.
Uphie shook her head violently, and so did many other Fluffies. None of them dared to speak. The munstah lady clapped her hands, causing Uphie to flinch, then she skipped to the door.
“Sorry for all of that folks, you can check out our wares now” The lady said in a happy tone.
Millie peered out curiously and could not believe who had come in. It was mummah, but also Gwasses mummah and Oddah dummeh daddeh. Uphie was scared to make a noise, fearing that the munstah lady would beat her as well, but the need to call out for mummah felt greater, and Uphie quickly pushed herself at the gate.
“Mummah!” She cried out “Iz mi Uwpee!”
It was only then that Uphie noticed what mummah was carrying: New Uphie. The beige Fluffy was being held by mummah, and was hugging mummah tightly. Uphie could not help but feel both shocked and jealous. Why was New Uphie able to get huggies from mummah so easily?!
“Mummah!” Uphie cried out again.
“Nu wike dis pwace” New Uphie moaned.
Mummah made such a nice laugh. The kind that Uphie really liked, but she could only stare in horror as mummah nuzzled New Uphie, filling Uphie with jealous rage.
“Mummah! Dat nut Uwpee!” Uphie screamed “Uwpee am hewe!”
Mummah was looking at her and smiled.
“Oh look Uphie, that Fluffy looks just like you”.
New Uphie did not say anything. She only whimpered, filling Uphie with even more rage.
“Dat nut Uwpee!” Uphie screamed “Dat am Nyu Uwpee!”
Mummah smiled and continued hugging New Uphie, and New Uphie nuzzled her mummah more.
“Wan gu tu mummah housie” New Uphie said with a whimper.
Uphie couldn’t believe it. That fake had somehow managed to trick mummah. Uphie began to hit the bars even harder, desperate to break free.
“DAT NUT UWPEE!” Uphie screamed at the top of her lungs “UWPEE AM UWPEE”.
Uphie began panting heavily, trying to catch her breath, as mummah stared at her. She watched as mummah put New Uphie back into the ECC, filling Uphie with dread, but then she felt a sliver of hope as mummah began to approach.
“Mummah!” Uphie cried out with glee “Iz Uwpee!”
“Dat nut Uwpee” came a voice.
Uphie recognized that voice. It was Enegwy, and when she looked at Enegwy she noticed the Fluffy giving her a mean look. Mummah was also looking at Enegwy.
“Oh? What is that Fluffy’s name, then?” Mummah asked
“Dummeh Fwuffy weal namesie am Cookie” Enegwy declared
Uphie looked at Enegwy in disbelief. What was she doing? Why was she lying? Uphie quickly banged on the gate in a bid to get attention from her mummah.
“Dun wisten tu dummeh Enegwy, mummah” Uphie pleaded “Enegwy am wiaw!”
“Huh!?!” Enegwy exclaimed “Nu am wiaw. Cookie am wiaw. Wady dun wisten tu dummeh Cookie!”
“SHADDAP ENEGWY!” Uphie screamed “STAPH TWICKING MUMMAH!”
“DUMMEH COOKIE!” Enegwy screamed back “COOKIE TWICKING WADY”
“UWPEE NAMESIE AM UWPEE!”
“DUMMEH NAMESIE AM COOKIE!”
Suddenly other Fluffies began to get involved.
“Dun wisten tu dummeh” One Fluffy said “Fwuffy namesie am Cookie”
“Am dummeh Fwuffy, nice wady” said another Fluffy
“Dummeh” came a squeaky voice “Dis am Cookie, dat am mummah!”
Uphie turned to the source of that voice. It had come from the ECC. It was Prie. The foal had come to her mother’s aid and was pressing on the gate, but Prie was quickly dragged away by New Uphie, and Uphie began banging on the gate harder.
“Pwie!” Uphie cried out.
“Dun wisten tu dummeh poopie Fwuffy!” One Fluffy shouted
“Am dummeh babbeh, dun kno wat talksie bout!” Another Fluffy shouted.
Uphie couldn’t believe it. What was going on?! Why was every Fluffy turning against her.
“Nu mummah!” Uphie screamed “Dun wisten tu dummehs, Uwpee am Uwpee!”
The other Fluffies did not take the insult lightly and they all began to spew their own. A torrent of nasty words directed at Uphie and leaving the mare feeling utterly horrified, and she desperately wished that this was all just a dream, but then she saw mummah. She was right outside the gate. So close. Uphie scrambled up to the gate and tried to touch mummah, but her hooves could not fit through the bars.
“Mummah!” Uphie cried out with joy.
Of course mummah would recognize her. Why wouldn’t she? They had been together for so long. There was no way a bunch of dummeh Fluffies would be able to trick mummah into thinking that she was Cookie. Absolutely no way.
“Hi Cookie” Mummah said with a gentle smile.
Uphie’s whole world shattered in that instant. Any hope she had managed to muster had faded with that single line. Her strength left her, causing her to fall onto the cold hard floor of this box, and her heart sank, leaving her feeling empty. She could only watch as mummah walked away, as the other Fluffies began to laugh mockingly. Enegwy stared at her with an evil smile.
“Hewwo Cookie” Enegwy said mockingly.
The other Fluffies began to break out in laughter, while mummah, Gwasses mummah and Oddah dummeh daddeh walked away. Uphie had loss all will to call out to them. What was the point? She could not believe it, but they had managed to trick mummah. She was going to leave Uphie here. This scary place where Fluffies got hurties, in this room filled with all these horrible, munstah Fluffies. Meanwhile fake Uphie was going to live at the housie with her babbehs. She really could not believe it. What did she do to deserve all this? She was only trying her best to be a good mummah. There was only one phrase she could think to say.
“Wan die…”
Gremmie stared out from the balcony, looking out at the party below. She was trying to figure out the word that best described Paise’s business. Efficient? Sustainable? Innovative? It was an interesting combination. Fluffy removal services plus gardenscaping. Paise owned a company that dealt with Fluffy infestations. One of the companies that the government hired to deal with the mega herd, with the many Fluffies being tortured here, being part of that herd, but unlike most of these anti-infestation companies, Paise was one of the few that did not outright eliminate ferals.
Instead, he used that for garden maintenance. Fluffy waste was good fertilizer and the corpses were full of nutrients that fostered good garden growth, especially with the right chemicals. Apparently Fluffy skeletons also served as popular garden decor. Dress them up in cute clothes, and you had a rather morbid version of Garden Gnomes. Even if she did not understand entirely, it was clearly a lucrative business, enough for Paise to purchase this luxurious property: a three story manor with a massive backyard. One that could easily hold over a hundred people.
She looked at the massive backyard and admired the layout. Half of the backyard had been allocated for Fluffy abuse, while the other half was just a space to eat, party and socialize. A massive wooden wall had been erected to separate the two spaces and it was like everybody who entered the abuse area, would leave their brutality and sadism in the Fluffy abuse spot, because the non-abuse side just felt so relaxed.
Gremmie observed the people gathered round the various portable heaters, eating an assortment of grilled dishes, socializing with other people and drinking. There were kids running around and playing, some of the people even brought their pets. There were even some Fluffies enjoying life. Lucky ones that managed to escape the abuse, as some of the people, usually children, had taken a liking to them. This duality of human nature, separated by a single wooden wall. It was interesting to observe at the very least.
Gremmie also liked the clear rules. No abusing out of the abuse zone. No harassing each other. No hurting the Fluffies adopted by the kids. Heck even the kids themselves were not allowed in the abuse zone. Not everyone was comfortable with children witnessing such violence. An understandable sentiment. The only reason the guard had stopped them earlier was because he saw the ECC and thought they were hug boxers looking to cause trouble. Gremmie liked Paise’s motto. Fluffies were a hobby not a lifestyle choice. A surprisingly balanced take for someone hosting an abuse party in his backyard, especially in a world where it felt like too many people were obsessed with either abusing or caring for these things.
Millie existed as a perfect example of those obsessive individuals. As hugboxer she spent way too much time, money and effort on one of these creatures, and now as this abusers, her need to punish Uphie by making her work felt like such a convoluted plan and it was clearly having a detrimental effect on Millie herself. Yet it was hard to convince Millie to stop. It was clear that Millie was heavily invested emotionally in making this work and Gremmie understood what she was trying to do, or at least she thought she did.
Make Uphie work this back breaking job just so she could afford a living. The savings were clearly a representation of time and patience to afford better stuff. Really make this Fluffy understand everything Millie had gone through with her. Then reward all Uphie’s effort with unreasonable external issues that took away those savings and basically made all that time and patience disappear. Much like Uphie did to Millie, when she ran away. Gremmie had to admit, she would be lying if she didn’t say she found amusement in seeing Uphie like this. She hated that pamper princess just as much as Hans and Alize. So seeing Uphie suffer like this was a motivation in itself to help Millie with this crazy plan.
“Having fun?” Came a voice, interrupting her thoughts.
She turned around to see Hans. He had a big grin and two wine glasses filled with a fruity looking cocktail. Gremmie eyed him suspiciously.
“Don’t worry. Both are non-alcoholic!” Hans clarified.
Gremmie took one and drank it cautiously. It was a nice fruit punch. She took the other glass and took a sip. It was the same.
“Wow” Hans said with a laugh.
“Just checking” Gremmie said with a small smile.
Hans chuckled as he looked out from the balcony. “I told you my peeps are good people” He commented.
Gremmie nodded. She knew they were good people when they had convinced Hans to stop abusing Fluffies in fear that it would worsen his mental condition. That already made them way better people than her.
“You okay?” Hans suddenly asked
Gremmie looked at him in confusion, but nodded. “I’m fine.” She replied softly.
Hans gave her a doubtful look. “Your still not mad at me for drinking, right?”
“I’m not”
“I mean I know doc said no, but still y’know it was only one time and I haven’t drunk ever since.”
“I’m not mad about that.”
“AH! But you are mad about something, right?”
Gremmie sighed and took another drink of the fruit, as she looked out from the balcony.
“I’m not mad at you.” she replied calmly.
“Who then? Uphie? I mean we really gave it to that bitch today.”
Gremmie shook her head gently, as she looked out. She did not really want to say it. She never really did like sharing her feelings, but at the same time, the mood felt peaceful and with only Hans here, it was probably the best time to express how she really felt.
“I… I just felt mad at myself… Y’know for not being there for you…”
“Huh?!” Hans retorted “Not this again. C’mon sis we talked about this.”
“I know, but like all these people were there for you and…”
“Like I said. You were busy. You had your career and research to focus on and…”
“Family is important too.”
“Yeah family is, but… Ok. Look. Like I said before. If the reason you weren’t there for me was because you were too busy watching soap dramas or hanging out with friend, then yeah I would be upset, but you weren’t. You were working and doing science stuff. I can’t get mad at you for that.”
Gremmie looked down and took another sip of her drink. Pondering on Hans’ words. How long had it been since she had started to focus more on family. How long had it been since her experiment. Just a little over a month and a bit if she remembered rightly. She wondered how 4A and 4B were doing. Was Mabe treating them right? Maybe she should visit them. Would they recognize her?
“C’mon your still not moping are you?” Hans asked, his voice showing hints of frustration.
Gremmie shook her head. “I’m not”
“Well you shouldn’t be. I mean look at what you did for Millie. Sure we all agreed to come and help, and yeah we were all brainstorming together, but who was the one who did most of the thinking, certainly not Lize and I. We’re just a pair of boneheads. We couldn’t do that. We weren’t the ones who identified the problem areas and said…”
Hans suddenly stopped talking. He was staring into space. Gremmie looked at him with concern and held his hand tightly. He was silence for a few seconds, before suddenly blinking rapidly and looking at her.
“What’s up?” Hans asked with a smile.
Gremmie looked at him cautiously. When was the last time he had his medicine? Two hours ago. When was the last time this occurred? At least a week ago. Patterns? Was it something to do with the Fluffy abuse or perhaps mentions of a serious topic like family troubles?
“What was I saying?” Hans suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“You…”
Gremmie found herself interrupted by Paise, who had suddenly approached them and gave Hans a good old slap on the back.
“Hiya you two. Sorry to interrupt, but the party is coming to an end soon, so you guys might want to start wrapping up your… Uh… Uphie thing”
Hans chuckled as he smacked his friend’s shoulder playful.
“Yes my captain. My captain!”
Gremmie made a small smile as she followed behind Hans and Paise. The two were talking about Formula racing. Something about the top racers. Gremmie was more concerned that her brother had another episode. Did he normally shut down like this so often? She couldn’t tell, and it made her feel guilty, as it just proved how little she was there for him. Gremmie just looked at her phone. 17:00. Roughly four hours since they left Uphie in that holding cell.
“I still can’t believe how much effort your putting on that pig rat Uphie” Paise suddenly commented.
Hans chuckled and Gremmie could not help but smirk in agreement.
“You’ve seen Millie, right?” Hans replied “She isn’t exactly stable when it comes to Fluffies.”
Paise made a nervous chuckle “Yeah. Feels like she got some issues… Not many people I know who could rip a Fluffy to pieces with such a sweet smile. Kind of creeped out some of the other folk to be honest, but she also got a couple of admirers too”.
Hans responded with his own nervous chuckle and Gremmie looked out the window in thought. It was definitely something that they would need to address in the future, especially regarding the brutal nature of her abuse, but it was best to do these things step by step.
“Right now our focus is on Uphie” Hans responded “Mimi needs to get over Uphie first, but she seems obsessed in making Uphie a hard working citizen, right Grem?”
“Uh… Yes” Gremmie replied with a shy nod.
“Breaking Uphie’s ego is important for that purpose” Hans added.
Paise shrugged and they stopped talking about the matter, chatting about other things until they reached the backyard. They found Millie and Alize at the shooting range, firing at the Fluffies with those modified BB guns. Millie had a big smile as she guided Alize on where to shoot, Alize firing at the Fluffies with deadly efficiency. Gremmie recognized the Fluffy in the field. The orange and blue one who called himself Enegwy. The unicorn was running around in terror, pleading for mercy, as Alize hit each of its legs one by one on the instructions of Millie. Paise let out a low impressed whistle, as Hans chuckled, and they were not alone. A small crowd of party goers were watching the show, and a couple were even cheering loudly every time Alize got a hit.
“It’s fucking crazy how many of them tried to screw her over” Hans suddenly commented
“I know right!” Paise exclaimed “Like I’ve never seen that kind of thing in my life. Fucking crab of buckets kind of shit”.
“Really makes you think what kind of things Uphie did out there”
“Hah! Imagine if Uphie was some sort of dictator out there in the wild!”
The two men laughed, and whilst Gremmie did find the notion amusing, she did not offer her own opinion. She was too busy thinking about how lucky they were. She hadn’t taken into account that other Fluffies might have recognized her, and if Uphie was actually quite agreeable out in the wild, then it could have gone quite wrong. It would have been hard to convince Uphie that her mummah had been tricked into thinking that the imposter was the real Uphie, if a dozen other Fluffies sided with her. It was lucky that they held such animosity for Uphie, but Gremmie was more surprised that Fluffies were capable of holding a grudge, especially for this long.
“Right eye” Millie commanded, interrupting Gremmie’s train of thought.
Alize fired and the Enegwy’s right eye exploded. The Fluffy plopped down on the ground. Dead on the spot, and the crowd erupted into cheers.
“Time to go” Gremmie commented “We need to pick up Uphie.”
“I’ll go with you” Alize stated as he picked up the ECC.
Paise led the crowd somewhere, with Millie and Hans followed him. Meanwhile, Alize followed Gremmie to the holding pens. As they were walking, Gremmie could not help but notice that Cookie, or rather that the fake Uphie was missing.
“Where’s the Fluffy?” Gremmie asked.
“Millie killed it.” Alize replied calmly.
Gremmie shrugged. That was not a big deal. They were going to get rid of Cookie one way or another. She continued walking in silence, as Alize walked next to her.
“Are you still mad at me about Han?” Alize suddenly asked
Gremmie gave his a side glance, and Alize looked away.
“No” she replied coldly.
“I said I’m sorry!” Alize cried out.
Gremmie smirked, finding amusement in his distress, then playfully hit his arm.
“I forgive you” She said with a small smile.
Alize smiled back, and playfully punched Gremmie back.
“Be honest, Grem. You really think this is going to help?” Alize asked.
“What do you mean?” Gremmie replied “Making Uphie think she was replaced?”
“No. Not that… I mean this whole thing with Millie and Uphie. This whole work scheme. Do you think we are doing the right thing?
Gremmie looked up in thought, as she thought of what to say, but in the end she settled for the truth.
“I don’t know” She admitted “Why?”
“It’s just… Man you should have see the scene with fake Uphie. She grabbed the butcher knife and started chopping the legs off inch by inch. Like that Fluffy was screaming and Millie had such a scary smile. I killed it… well because people were looking…”
Gremmie sighed “You care way too much about what other people think.”
Alize shrugged “I know! But like I didn’t like those looks some of them were giving Millie. They were looking at her like she was a freak, and… I dunno. I just…”
Alize made a frustrated sigh and put the ECC on the table.
“I dunno Grem, like I returned Uphie because Millie looked like she needed it. For closure y’know, and she told me her whole plan and I was thinking. Okay. Yeah I could see this working, but then we had that whole talk yesterday and we could all see that this was not helping her, and like today. Like she was smiling, when she chopped up fake Uphie, but you could tell that she was hurting on the inside”.
Gremmie nodded supportively. She did understand Alize’s hesitation, but wasn’t really sure what to say either, instead she looked inside the ECC. Veve and Prie were still inside. Both huddled together at the far end of the ECC, and both looking very terrified.
“I’m guessing these two saw what Millie do to Fake Uphie?”
Alize nodded “Yeah they had front seat views. Millie grabbed Prie and made her watch as she chopped up fake Uphie, asking Prie if this was what she wanted, because Prie kept complaining that Fake Uphie was not her mummah and had kept calling us dumbasses”.
Gremmie pondered the psychological effects this would bring and started walking again, as Alize picked up the ECC and followed.
“I’ve been meaning to ask” Alize suddenly said. “Where is Prie’s name from?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Like Uphie is that hero princess from Empire Heart III and Veve was the timid ranger friend, right? But I could not figure where Veve was from. Like is some villain from another game?”
Gremmie paused. She was not sure actually, but she was sure she heard the name before, back when they were in high school, yet she could not recall.
“I’m not actually sure” Gremmie admitted.
They stopped the conversation just outside the door of the Fluffy holding area and put on serious faces. It was time to deal with the princess. Gremmie entered the room first and saw Paise’s assistant still sat behind the desk. She gave Gremmie a friendly smile.
“Hi Miss Gremmie!” She chirped happily “Cage 66?”
“Yes please” Gremmie responded with a firm nod
“Oh. you should probably know… um…”
“What’s wrong?” Gremmie asked, feeling a hint of nervousness from the hesitation of the woman.
“It’s just that, well… Old Uphie, she’s is in the Wan Die loop”
Gremmie sighed in relief “That’s fine. I expected that.”
“Oh thank god! That’s perfect then!” she exclaimed with a relieved sigh.
She passed Gremmie the key, and gave the two a grin as they entered the room, Gremmie passed the key to Alize and took the ECC. The room was much quieter now as most of the Fluffies had been taken. Either as part of the party amusement or adopted by some of the guests, with the remaining Fluffies all too miserable to say anything, beyond a few whimpers. For Gremmie that was good, as it gave her time to think and she placed the ECC on the table and opened the biometric lock. She stared at Veve and Prie inside.
“Uh… are you sure this isn’t a problem?” Alize suddenly asked.
Gremmie turned to Alize and saw him holding Uphie. The mare looked dead in his grasps, but was very much alive, as she was still repeating “Wan die” over and over again.
“It’s fine” Gremmie replied in a matter of fact tone “It’s a common misconception that the Wan Die loop is a sign that a Fluffy is broken.”
“Oh? Please do go on Dr. Ludanious” Alize grinned, as he placed Uphie on the table.
Gremmie grabbed a flash light and shined it on Uphie’s eyes, observing the pupils dilating as she continued her seminar.
“People often think that the Fluffies are broken once they enter the Wan Die stage, because they keep saying the word, die, over and over again, but we have to remember that these are toys fundamentally.”
“Well I mean some people would say they were pets, no?”
“I’m sorry Mr. Barkley do you have something to add to my class?” Gremmie asked sarcastically.
Alize laughed “Terribly sorry Dr. Ludanious. Please do go on.”
Gremmie smirked as she looked for a needle.
“Thing about Fluffies was that they were designed as children’s toys. So you have to think about it from that sense…”
Gremmie found a needle and hovered it just an inch from Uphie’s eye. Uphie continue to repeat Wan Die over and over, but as the needle moved closer, Uphie’s eyelid quickly snapped shut, and Gremmie smiled as this was all she needed to know that the survival instincts were still intact.
“… Fluffies can express joy and love as a means of providing positive affirmation for a child’s good actions and behavior. They are capable of dreams and desires as a way of relating to a child. At the same time, they can express sadness, anger and pain, as a way of showing children negative affirmation for bad actions and behaviors…”
Gremmie suddenly poked Uphie’s side with the needle causing the mare to twitch, but not break away from the Wan Die loop. Gremmie sighed in annoyance.
“… In the same way, they wanted to show children that too many bad actions could really hurt someone, so they created a way for a Fluffy to express when it was in extreme state of misery using the word “Wan Die” as a way to shock a child into possible positive reformation. However, the thing is not every Fluffy actually wanted to die when in this state. It’s like depression. You can be very miserable, but not every depressed person wants to commit suicide. In the same way, some Fluffies who say Wan Die, are depressed, but they could very much want to live. It’s just that Hasbio never really thought too much about the different stage of depressions, as it’s not exactly something one would think of when programming a bio-toy.”
“So basically even though Uphie says Wan Die, she probably doesn’t want to die. She’s just depressed, but is incapable of expressing it beyond Wan Die, because of Hasbio programming?”
“Full marks, Mr. Barkley”.
Alize chuckled. “You know after saying all that, you would kind look like an idiot if you couldn’t pull Uphie out of the Wan Die loop.”
Gremmie grinned “I know. That’s why I didn’t say that in front of the lady.”
Alize let out a hearty laugh, as Gremmie looked inside the ECC. Veve and Prie were still tucked at the very far end of the ECC, huddled close together as they trembled in fear. Gremmie pulled them out, prompting a chorus of high pitched squeaks.
“I’ll need your help you two” Gremmie said calmly.
Both foals looked at her. Veve looked terrified, but Prie was glaring at her.
“Nu wan… Nu wan hewp Dummeh gwasses wady” Prie declared.
“Even if I need you to help your mummah?”
This certainly got both foals looking a lot more attentive.
“I need both of you to hug your mummah and tell her to come back” Gremmie commanded
Gremmie did not need to say anything more. The two foals immediately scrambled to Uphie and hugged her tightly. “Mummah com bac!” Both foals shouted, as loudly as they could.
“Keep saying it until your mummah stops saying Wan Die, unless you don’t want her back.”
Under such a statement, Veve and Prie had no choice but to keep squealing “mummah com bac” like some faulty record player and Gremmie carefully observed Uphie. She was still repeating Wan Die over and over again, and Gremmie noted that Uphie showed no signs of registering the presence of her foals, as both Uphie’s eyes were kept locked in front of her, but as Gremmie continued to stare, Uphie’s eyes turned ever so slightly, staring back at Gremmie. That was all Gremmie needed.
“Let’s talk about your mama, Uphie. Well I’ll talk. You listen. I am going to give you one more chance to make it up to your mama. I already got rid of fake Uphie and I’ll put you back in the ECC…”
Gremmie made note that Uphie was blinking rapidly, and tears were forming around her eyes. She figured that it was signs of joy. That was a good sign.
“… However! If you cause your mama any trouble. If you don’t do EVERYTHING your mama says. If you give her even one reason to complain to me… I’ll come for you, replace you again, and bring you back here, and if that happens I will NEVER return you to your mummah. Understand?”
There was no response. Uphie continued to repeat Wan Die over and over again, but she was blinking rather rapidly. Veve and Prie were still shouting “mummah com bac”, but she did notice Prie glaring at her and as Gremmie turned to Alize, she noticed him giving her a curious look. Gremmie instantly felt this rush of embarrassment. They had joked about it, but what if she couldn’t actually pull Uphie out of the Wan Die loop. This embarrassment quickly turned into irritation, as she realized that failure to pull Uphie out of the Wan Die loop would also mean that she had denied her cousin proper closure. Gremmie clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“So… Is this how you want this to end, Uphie? Pathetic all your life? You had a good life with your mama. No, you had a fantastic life. Better than almost any other Fluffy, and you threw it all away because you wanted children. Well you have your children now and now you plan to abandon them as well? Are you trying to prove that you really are a failure. A failure as a Fluffy. A failure as a child. A failure as a parent. I can tell you now that if you do not snap out of your Wan Die loop, I am going to discard your foals right here and right now…”
Gremmie noticed both foals looking at her in horror, as they continued repeating “mummah com bac”. She could not help but smirk, then she rubbed Veve’s cheeks gently and gave that foal a head pat.
“Maybe not you Veve. I’ll need your help fixing Millie after your mother broke her.”
Gremmie noticed Uphie’s eye suddenly twitch. Bingo!
“Yes Uphie. You heard right. You broke you mama. In ways you could never imagine. It took us months just to fix your mama in a way that she could talk and walk again, but she was never properly fixed, a part of her heart was always broken because of YOU. Hopefully Veve could fix that damage you did. It’s the only good thing you left your mama.”
Uphie suddenly went silent as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Her eyes locked onto Gremmie and then she broke into a full wail.
“UWPEE SOWWI!!!” Uphie cried out.
Alize let out an impressed whistle, as Gremmie sighed in relief. Then Gremmie grabbed Uphie and threw her into the ECC. She tossed Veve and Prie inside as well. The two foals quickly went to hug their mummah, but Uphie paid no heed as she pressed her face against the bars of the ECC gate.
“Uwpee sowwi, Gwasses mummah! Uwpee sowwi.”
Gremmie glared at the Fluffy, feeling a low simmering rage from such a meaningless apology.
“I’m only going to remind you once. You do EVERYTHING Millie tells you. If Millie tells me that you were a bad Fluffy even once, I am coming here, replacing you and I will make sure you NEVER return to your mama ever again. Do you understand?”
Uphie kept her head down low and made a pathetic whimper. She looked miserable, but offered no response, which made Gremmie feel very annoyed.
“Do. You. Understand.” Gremmie repeated, this time in a slightly more angry tone.
“Uwpee undewstan!” Uphie cried “Undewstan!”
“What are you going to do for your mama?”
“EBETING!” Uphie cried “Nu be bad Fwuffy. Nu eban wance!”
Alize began to clap, as he picked up the ECC, and Gremmie could not help but respond with a smug face. She left the holding area feeling a mix of relief and pride, noting a nod of approval from Paise’s secretary. It felt good, knowing that she might have been helping her cousin, and as Gremmie walked out of this holding area with Alize, she looked out at the gorgeous, light blue, winter sky with an optimistic smile.
“Regarding that thing you said earlier about Millie and Uphie” Gremmie stated “I… Well… Personally I don’t think it will help short term, but maybe after a few weeks of this… Maybe. Just maybe Millie will get this whole thing out of her system and then she might start to heal… I’m hoping that a few days of this would help her find closure. Optimistically, she might heal completely after that, but in truth… I think she’ll still be hurting, but at least maybe then we can start talking with her about this in a more serious manner, but… In my opinion… I think we are doing the right thing? Like taking this slow and supporting her one step at a time, and eventually she’ll start getting better”.
Alize gave her a nod, clearly appreciative of her justification. Gremmie offered him a small smile, then looked into the ECC. Uphie, Veve and Prie were fast asleep. No doubt the trio had quite an eventful day. Hopefully Uphie would be more agreeable after this and then Millie would be able to heal, but something was bothering Gremmie. It was this feeling that she had missed something important. Reduction of interaction. Use of automation. Destruction of ego. They had addressed all these points, but she could not shake the feeling that she had forgotten about something important. Something that could really affect this plan badly, yet she really couldn’t figure it out.