“Alright ladies.” The human said, carrying the bin containing you and the other fillies. “A quick bath, then we’ll get you some nummies before we go out to the front pen.”
“Baff?” The pink filly asked.
“Mh-hm. Don’t you want to smell nice?”
You did want to smell nice, that must be what Pearl and Lavender were taken away for.
The bin jostled along as it was carried before coming to rest. The pale blue filly next to you put her hooves up on the edge, peeking over.
“Wawa! Wawa am bad fo’ fwuffies!” She protested. You winced. That was complaining, specifically not something good fluffies did.
“Nope. It’s fine.” She grabbed the filly by the scruff and pulled her from the bin.
“Nuu! Nu wan!!” She struggled, hooves flailing.
“Ugh, just calm down.”
You huddled on the bottom of the padded bin, hearing the shrieks of the terrified filly and the splashing of the horrible water. Was this what Pearl meant by worstest hurties? The other foals scrambled against the sides of your prison, unable to do more than hook their hooves over the side.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, hm?” The human said.
“Huuuu….” the filly whined. Your ears perked up. She sounded sad, yes, but not hurting.
You forced yourself up into a sitting position, tucking your trembling hooves under you. Good fluffies didn’t run away, Pearl said so. Good fluffies didn’t hide.
“Alright, who’s next?” the human said, looking back over the bin.
After a moment of thought you lifted your hooves. You hoped this wasn’t begging, the human specifically asked for one of you.
“You? Alright.” Rather than being grabbed by the scruff she scooped her hands under you, a much more comfortable grasp. “Don’t be scared, this won’t hurt a bit.”
You looked down into the bowl of suds, the terrifying water hidden somewhere below them. Cold, terrible water. Just waiting to send you to your doom. You clenched your teeth as you were slowly lowered into it, ready for the pain.
It was… warm.
Your hooves landed on something solid and grippy under the water, giving you a stable spot to stand. You opened your eyes carefully as the human splashed the suds over you. They were fluffy and soft and smelled really nice! You gently lifted a hoof, giggling at the foam that stuck to it, like an extra layer to your fluff.
“See? It’s nice, isn’t it?” The human said.
“Yus! Tank’oo!” Your tail wagged as you sniffed at the soft foam. It smelled similar to what the nursemares came back smelling like, but it was missing a specific savory smell. The one that made your mouth water.
“It’ll hurt a little bit if it gets in your eyes, so close them tight for me. Okay?”
“Otay!” You chirped, closing your eyes.
The human started rubbing your fluff, and you almost moaned at the sensation. Was this how humans gave huggies? It felt amazing, you leaned into her hands as she worked her way up your body, stopping at the top of your head.
“Alright, keep your eyes closed. In a moment here I’m gonna rinse you off, when I say so you’re going to hold your breath, okay?” The worker lifted you from the foamy bowl and onto another surface.
You felt like you could fly, even without wingies, at being called a good girl. Pearl was right! You were a good fluffy! Maybe this human would even be your mummah! “Otay!”
“Alright, hold your breath!”
You pursed your lips hard as water washed over your face. A small twinge of fear twisted in your belly but you grit your teeth and held firm. You would be a good fluffy, even if you were scared.
“All done! You’re a very good girl!” The worker said, and you inhaled with a gasp. “You can open your eyes now.”
You looked down at yourself, taking in your much smaller frame with your purple fluff matted down. You were surrounded by the nice, sweet smell and felt so clean! You didn’t realize how grimy you were in the foal place, you felt so much lighter!
“Tank’oo, nice wady!” You said, wagging your tail.
“You’re welcome! Here, for being such a good girl,” She rummaged a bit under the sink, pulling a small bag out. “you can have a treat!”
As she cracked the bag open a smell hit you, savory and rich. Your mouth watered, this was the missing smell! She held out a dark red cube to you and you gently grabbed it with your teeth. The flavor hit your tongue and you scarfed it down almost without thought. It was rich and sharp, filling your entire body with the intoxicating flavor. As you swallowed the word formed in your brain: Sketti. This was sketties! The bestest nummies!
“Tank’oo! Tank’oo tank’oo!” You chirped over and over, tongue running around your teeth searching for any trace of the delicious treat left behind.
“You keep being so good and you’ll get more of those.” She said, putting the bag back. “Hop into the bin for me, okay?”
You nodded and trotted over to the edge of the counter, dropping down next to the blue filly who was curled against the side. You could feel the chill on you as you fluff cooled and snuggled up next to her. You felt bad for her, too scared to see how nice the bath really was.
One by one the other foals were washed and dropped in with you, shaking and sobbing. None of them smelled like the sketti treats, none of them behaved like you did. A sad thing, you wish you could have shared the treats.
“Okay, all clean!” The worker said once the last filly was dropped in. You were mostly dry by this point, your fluff soft and puffy. “Time for a snack.”
At the mention of food the foals perked up a little.
“Hab treats?” The blue foal asked.
“Nope those are just for very good fluffies.” She gave you a wink as she said it, and your chest swelled with pride. A very good fluffy! Even better than good!
She gently tipped the bin on its side, sending you and the other fillies tumbling onto the floor. You scrambled to your hooves, taking in the new space.
It was a small pen, much smaller than the foal place. Much brighter too, with no low ceiling above you. The floor was spongy like the padded bins as you took tentative steps into the space. Along one wall was a very familiar litter tray, on the other another deep trough of something you didn’t recognize. You trotted up to it curiously. It was kinda like the litter, made of little bits of something. The pieces were larger, rounder, and dark brown rather than grey.
“Once you have your nummies you can go out to the front pen.” The worker said, leaning back against a wall.
“Otay, whewe am miwky pwaces?” You asked.
“No milk here, girls. You’re big fluffies now, big fluffies eat kibble.” She pointed at the brown bits.
“Buh… wan miwkies!” One of the foals behind you said as you sniffed at the kibble. It smelled sorta savory. Not bad, but certainly not like milk.
“Well, then you don’t get to play with the nice toys up front. A shame, they’re such fun toys…” She turned away from you all, as if to leave.
You dove into the kibble and got as much into your mouth as you could. It was dry and hard, digging into your gums between your small teeth. You tried to swallow but the mass just stuck in your throat.
“Chew, girl. Don’t you choke on me.” The nice lady crouched down next to you.
You nodded, eyes watering with the effort as you crunched the dry kibble. It hurt but it tasted like a stale version of the treat you got earlier, and got softer as you chewed. Eventually you were able to choke down the mass, coughing up a few small crumbs.
“Atta girl.” You jumped as a hand landed on you, patting you on the head. “You hop back into that bin, I’ll get you moved up.”
“Owwie!” One of the other fillies whined, plopping down on her butt. “Kibbow gib huwties!”
You gave her a sympathetic look as you trotted back into the bin. Your mouth did hurt, but being a good fluffy was worth it.
“Well, you’ll have to stay in this boring pen while your friend here goes to play with the toys…” she said. You stumbled as she righted the bin.
“Nu wan, wan miwkies!”
“Eat the kibble or I’ll have to punish you.”
“Huuuu! Nu wan! Wan toys! Wan miwkies!!” she wailed.
There was a sharp noise, a shriek from one of the foals. You stood on your hind legs to peek over the edge of the bin as the other fillies ran to hide behind it.
The nice lady stood over and orange and cream foal, a thin stick in her hand.
“You do not say no to humans. You do what you’re told.” She said, her voice suddenly cold as she pointed the stick at the other foals. “If you don’t eat this, you don’t get to have an owner. Do you want that?”
The fillies behind you mumbled quietly in reply, the orange foal sobbing on the ground in front of her.
“Just because the nursemares aren’t here to watch you doesn’t mean you can act up. If you manage to get an owner they’ll have sorry sticks too.” She slapped the stick into her palm for emphasis. “This is what happens to bad fluffies.”
She brought the stick down onto the orange foal, hard. She screeched in pain and you flinched back. This was what Pearl meant, these hurties seemed so much worse. You slipped down into the bin as the smacks and screams continued.
“Remember that. When I come back there had better not be any kibble left.” the woman said, picking up your bin.
The other filly’s voices got quieter as you traveled, but you could hear many other fluffies all around you. Louder, adult voices as well as more humans. You were a little shaken by the sudden change from what you thought was a nice lady…
No, she was a nice lady. Fluffies needed to be good, and bad fluffies got punished. Punishing a bad fluffy would make them good. It was a good thing, a nice thing. Even if it felt bad.
“Hey, someone is here looking for a purple and green earthie filly. Do we have one in the foal shelves?” A man said.
“I got purple and yellow right here, really great temperament. Will that work?”
That was you! Your fluff was purple, your mane was yellow!! You didn’t know what temperament was but great meant good!!
“Maybe, let me ask.”
The bin came to rest, and the woman scooped you up. “Sorry girl, you might not get to play with the toys out front.”
“Dat am… Otay.” It didn’t feel okay, you wondered what you did to deserve this. Maybe… you were supposed to share the kibble better? No toys was better than the sorry stick though.
“That’s a good girl.”
You heard the man’s voice again. “Yeah, that works. Box her up.”
“You get something better than toys.” She said, scooping you out of the bin.
“Bettah?”
“Yup, you’re going to have an owner. Keep being a good girl, okay?”
You nodded happily as she lowered you into a box. “Tank’oo, nice wady!”
An owner! A daddeh or mummah! A home of your own!! You could barely contain your joy, hooves waving around in a rhythmless dance. You were a good fluffy!!
“It’s gonna get dark now, but you can still see through these holes, okay?”
“Otay!” The box closed up over the top of you, and you peeked out through one of the holes on the side. You could see the pen with the other fillies all crowded around the kibble getting further and further away, then a door closed and blocked your view.
“Here you go, sir! Have a great day!”
You heard another voice, lower than the rest. “Thank you, you too!”
You could see a new space, filled with color and noise! Lots of fluffies all around, big ones and little ones in all sorts of colors! More than even in the foal place! The box swung slightly as you moved through the store, past shelves with things you had no name for, all in bright packaging. And the people! The humans, big and small, old and young, all talking and playing with fluffies!! What a wonderful place! Some part of you wished you could have spent more time here, but that would take away from time with your new daddeh!!
You watched through a small hole as a glass door slid shut behind you, cutting off the noise of the store. New smells leaked into the box, things you had no name for. There was so much to this world you didn’t know, but that was okay! Your new daddeh would show you!