A Promise of Warmth

Boogeyman123, November 10, 2019; 20:55 / FB 55037
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A Promise of Warmth

The first chill of winter had taken hold of the forest, and with it the inhabitants had begun making frantic last minute preparations for the upcoming freeze-squirrels dashed to and fro to their hoards of nuts and seeds and whatever else they could find, with others following closely behind hoping to pilfer from their kin's cache and add to their own. Up in the sky stragglers of the flocking herds took flight before it was too late and they'd freeze to death in the frigid temperatures, save for those who were used to the cold and otherwise tended to their nests and whatnot. Down below ground, however, various rodents and small mammals nestled down in their burrows, hoping to try and sleep through the fast approaching winter as they made their final preparations, glutting themselves on their food as their very bodies began to slow down.

Of course, not all of the denizens of the wild were capable of such preparations, at least to the same degree as their neighbors; Feral Fluffy Ponies weren't very good at storing food, as either something else would find it and muscle it out of their grasp or those among them who were too greedy and shortsighted to realize the need to ration it simply gorged themselves on it, shitting out the remains not long after. They couldn't fly nor travel fast enough to escape the impending freeze, and if they attempted to they were more liable to simply have their bodies fail on them should they try long distance travel. And, finally, while they could huddle together for warmth and dig burrows to try and shelter themselves from the cold, they were incapable of hibernating, unless you count wasting away from starvation and dehydration until they died as another form of long sleep.

A few herds, however, had managed to eke an existence in the unforgiving wilds, in spite of the efforts of hunters and trappers trying to wipe out as many of them as possible, if only for the possible ecological threats they imposed by killing or competing with many other smaller animals-and due to the stressors of the wild, it had become more and more difficult to do. Despite popular belief (and there being truth in it) that Fluffies were by and large incredibly dumb, even they were capable of learning. And through word of mouth and their fast breeding, the ferals would teach their descendants the ins and outs of survival-where to best find food, when to run and hide (which was almost always) and ways to tell if a human had been close recently-and what there intentions had been. As such, this herd had long since become learned of the dangers that the Winter Freeze provided, and feared its arrival; When the great sky ball grew distant, and food became scarce or buried under the powdery cold sky fluff that could trap a fluffy in an instant, or simply freeze them solid where they stood. Every year, countless numbers of foals, mares, and stallions perished in these terrible conditions, with the Fluffies powerless to do anything about it.

But the newest leader of the herd, a Unicorn with a pure white coat much like the sky fluff that came during the cold times had promised the herd that he wouldn't let a single Fluffy perish during the unforgiving winter months that were approaching. He promised them that he would bring them warmth, and that they would never need to worry about anything ever again; all of this was something that even the most naive, simple minded Fluffy Pony found hard to believe. But the herd still followed, in spite of their savviness by Fluffy standards, nor had the Smarty 'persuaded' his brethren through his Toughie Friends shoving the herd back in any and every direction he lead them in. Rather, they followed out of genuine trust and loyalty to the Smarty, rather than misplaced optimism, fear, and general stupidity (foolish Fluffies rarely lasted long in the wild-survival of the fittest and all that).

For one, the Smarty had been uncharacteristically smart-he didn't force the herd into impossible situations against unwinnable odds for one, and had even shown a small penchant for strategy and logic, at least as much as such a creature could. He'd been fair and just, having food divvied out as much as he could-it wasn't always much, but it was kind of him to share when he could simply have kept it all to himself, especially considering food was getting harder and harder to find with every passing week. He was even quite brave, often putting himself between a threat and the herd-granted, said threats tended to be birds or other small animals, but the fact he was willing to risk his own life when the average Fluffy would be hard pressed to do so, let alone a privileged and entitled as fuck Smarty was downright heroic.

So where the Smarty lead, the herd followed, over creeks and ditches and hills-He made sure not to push them too hard; where they could afford it they'd stop for food and water, and when they hunkered down for sleep he took the first watch with his Toughie entourage to protect the herd. Of course, in spite of his best efforts, Fluffies still perished on the journeys-some predators had been simply too fast or strong for him to fight off in time, or some of the herd had been too old or sick to continue for long, and the Smarty had to come to the decision that rather than leave them to wither away in pain, they would take forever sleepies early...by his own hoof, if the need be. He hated doing it, but he couldn't let the herd slow down too much in letting the slowest keep pace, nor could he bear to let anyone suffer more than they already had to-so if the time came, he'd have to give them stompies to put them out of their misery, before cleaning off his hooves and returning to his herd, without the company of the Fluffies he had taken with him just minutes before.

Eventually, they'd come upon a human town, a place the ferals found...unnerving, to say the least. The bright lights and loud noises overwhelmed their senses, and it was chock full of many bad humans who wanted to kill them for the crime of existing. They wanted to turn back, to return to the woods where it was safer...but the Smarty pressed them on, bringing them to a large building on the outskirts of town. As they'd approach it from the backwoods, he'd motion for them to wait as he finished the trek alone, trotting up to the back door and drumming on it with his hooves, before stepping backwards a bit. The door swung open to reveal a young man standing before them, his eyes falling upon the little white Unicorn who waited patiently for his reply-the man was silent for another moment before at last he said.

"Come on in, all of you-there's plenty of food to go around."

The fluffy ponies cautiously came forth from the underbrush, tentatively tiptoeing across the yellowed grass as if at any moment a trap would spring upon them and kill them. But thus far, no such thing happened, the Smarty even going so far as to step through the doorway and usher the others inside. Slowly but surely the herd made their way into the large, spacious building, the warm air soaking into their pelts and helping to ease the ache of their exhausted, worn down bodies as they'd pad into a large safe-room of sorts, finding several bulk bags worth of kibble waiting for them, with toys and litterboxes and other amenities strewn about. Eventually, their composure snapped and they all raced for the room as fast as their legs could carry them, each member of the much smaller herd diving into the food that awaited them. The Smarty stood off by the side, watching quietly as his herd finally got the first good meal of their lives...and their last.

The door was closed in on the Fluffies, who were all too busy playing to notice as their guard was let down. When they did notice it, they'd call out to the nice mistah who took them in to open the door, whereas the youngest of the herd called out for their Smarty to come save them, some of them even beginning to cry out of fear. They didn't have long, however-from the spigots on the ceiling came a noxious 'not pretty' smell, the Fluffies frantically wondering what was happening; They'd never experienced anything like this, but they never would again. The very air they breathed caused them to collapse, one by one, into a big fluffpile, each breath slowly poisoning their bodies with every passing moment...but the drugs in the food, at least, ensured they wouldn't be able to have felt their bodies shutting down. A few of them would shift slightly, or give a nigh inaudible whimper as their gazes grew heavy and their legs gave out from under them, as a level of exhaustion they didn't think possible took hold of them. They needed sleepies...just a quick one, and then they'd find a way out...

Just a little rest...
*
An hour or so later after the Fluffy Herd had been euthanized, the room was aired out as various men came in to shovel away the dead bodies, tossing them unceremoniously into large black garbage bags as the Smarty watched from afar. It worked every time-the Fuzzy unit was sent to infiltrate the herd, bring them back to the shelter's backroom, and euthanize the lot of them in one fell swoop. It was far more humane, at least, than simply smashing them to a paste-and far less tedious too. His master came up behind him and gently scratched behind his ears, before going to clean up any mess the Fluffies had made.

If nothing else, the Fuzzy Pony had kept his promise-The herd had found warmth, and would never have to worry about anything ever again...