When worlds collide

differential_Sloth, June 9, 2018; 01:54 / FB 51105
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When worlds collide

By differential_Sloth

Living so free is a tragedy when you can’t be what you want to be.

####

Somewhere deep in the Wyoming back-country stood a decades-old trappers shack steadily rotting away to nothing. The roof was partially collapsed, there were holes in the walls, and the interior was filthy and decayed. Despite all that, there was still something that called it home.

Late in the afternoon, a fluffy emerged from the trees and scurried into the shack through a hole in the wall. He dumped the food he’d found into one of the stockpiles around the shack, then retreated to a nest he built under the remains of a small cupboard. Exhausted from the day's efforts, he curled up in his nest and fell asleep.

The fluffy, a brown stallion with a dull yellow mane and tail, had once lived a herd where he was rejected by everyone including his mother. After fleeing he’d spent many months in the forest by himself, sleeping in whatever shelter he could find; it was rough, but at least he didn’t have to live in a den that reeked of fluffy shit.

By chance, he survived long enough to stumble on the shack; even though the shack was full of holes and let in a fair amount of rain and wind, it was home and relatively safe. There was a chance that another fluffy or even an entire herd would find it and force him out, but for now it was his. The stallion didn't spend much time worrying about that potential future though; there were more pressing issues at hand.

He’d noticed the changes; the added chill in the night air, certain kinds of food becoming scarce, leaves changing colour and falling off the trees. They were signs every feral knew and feared; the cold times were coming. In the northern states, it was the most significant threat fluffs faced after humans and other predators. Smaller herds could freeze to death in a single night, which was more merciful than slow starvation that larger herds often experienced.

The stallion was preparing as best he could. Stockpiles of food littered the shack; it was beyond his ability to know exactly how much he’d need during the snowy months, so he collected as much as he could. His nest was stuffed with as much heat conserving material he could find, even the fur of a dead fluffy. It smelled like death and rot, but it kept him warm.

With a little luck, he’d see the end of the cold times.

#

Birdsong and sunlight entering through the walls and roof of the shack woke the stallion. He stretched and yawned, getting ready to face the day. After relieving himself outside the shack, the stallion walked down a path that took him to his primary source of water. He kept low, walking slowly and keeping noise to a minimum; he’d learnt the value of those strategies by seeing what happened to fluffies that didn’t use them.

The path emerged on the banks of a river with rocky shores dotted with pieces of foliage; the water ran at a steady pace, fast enough to carry off a fluffy that stayed into it. The stallion walked to the edge of the river and lapped up the water. He was going to leave once was finished, but couldn’t help looking at himself in the water.

His fluff was the colour of shit, and his mane wasn’t much better, somewhere between the colour of piss and the runny shit that foals made before they started eating solids. The combination earned him the disgust of the entire herd. For some reason his mother saw fit not to kill, abandon or eat him when he was a foal. Given how his life turned off, that would have been more merciful.

#

*suckle suckle suckle*

‘*Yawn* Huh? Wai miwkie pwace hav funnie fee- NU! BAD BABBEH!’

*SWAT*

‘SQUEE!’

The little brown baby was knocked on his back. He tried to right himself, but his mother swatted him again.

‘EEEE!’

‘Dummeh poopie babbeh!’ his mother yelled, ‘Miwkies nu fow yu! Miwkies fow gud pwetty babbehs!’

‘Huhuhu peep bud babbeh hav tummeh huwties peep’ the little foal cried, ‘babbeh nee miwkies-’

‘Miwkies nu fow poopie babbehs!’ the mare yelled again. ‘Poopie babbeh num poopies! Dewe pwenty ovah dewe!’ She pointed at a pile of foal shit in one corner of the den.

‘Babbeh nu wan num poopies! Wan miwkies!’

‘Nu cawe! Yu twy steaw miwkies gain, an mummah giv yu stompies an fowewa sweepies!’

‘Dat wight dummeh poopie bwudda!' One of his sibblings yelled from their mother's back. ‘Miwkies am fow pwetty babbehs!' The little filly blew a raspberry to make her point.

‘Pwease mummah’ the little foal sat up. ‘W-wook! Am dancie babbeh! Dancie babbeh fow-’ His mother raised her hoof threateningly ‘Scree! Nu stompies!’ He scurried to the opposite side of the den and curled into a ball. ‘Huhuhu wai mummah nu wub babbeh?’ He’d asked himself that question more times than he could count.

His mother and sibblings watched for him for a few moments, almost daring the reject to try and steal milk again. Eventually they drifted back to sleep. The foal looked at his mother; for a moment he considered sneaking forward again, but getting caught twice in one night would be a death sentence

‘Peep. Tummeh huwties, huu.’ Not having drunk enough satisfy his hunger, there was only one option left. He crawled towards the shit pile, head hanging low. ‘Huhuhu.’

#

‘Dummeh!’

*KICK*

‘Poopie babbeh!’

*KICK*

‘NU PWETTY FWUFF!’

*KICK*

‘SCREEE! NU HUWT FWUFFY!’

Once the foal’s teeth had come through, he was finally freed from eating shit and stealing milk to survive. It came at a price though; his mother kicked him out of her burrow, forcing him to live in the poopie den. Dug under a tree near the herd's latrine, it permanently stank. The conditions weren't helped by the fluffies who did their business into the den ‘by accident.'

During the day he spent much of his time looking for food since the herd stockpile was off limits to him. Food was easy enough to find, even prises like berries and other fruit. He almost never got to enjoy those treasures though, as the other fluffies would be there to take them. Like the three colts attacking him now.

‘GIV NUMMIES DUMMEH!’

‘GUD BABBEHS WAN BEWWY NUMMIES NAO!’

‘TAKE NUMMIES! JUS NU MOWE HUWTIES!’ The brown colt uncurled himself and allowed his attackers to take the berries. With their prise claimed the bullies left, but not before giving the brown colt one last kick each.

‘Huhuhu owwies’ he cried, ‘jus wan nummies.’

These beatings and other torments were a daily occurrence, even in the poopie den where he should have been safe.

‘Dummeh!’

*SMACK*

‘SCREE! Wai huwt fwuffy!?’

‘CAUSE YU AM DUMMEH!’

*SMACK*

The little brown colt screamed as he was struck across the cheek by one of the other occupants of the poopie den, a blue and white alicorn. In the domestic market, he'd start at 500 dollars. In the herd, he was a monster, reviled as much as the poopie fluffies. Since he suffered the same beatings and teasing that the brown colt did, one would expect their shared lot in life would bring the two together.

Instead, the alicorn took out his rage on the colt.

‘HACHEW DUMMEH! YU BAD DUMMEH MUNSTAH!’ Tears welled in the alicorn’s eyes while he beat the colt. ‘YU NU GUD DUMMEH MUNSTAH! NU ONE WUB YU EWA!’

*SMACK SMACK SMACK*

#

‘Gun getchu speciaw fwend!’

Conditions were good and food was plentiful, so the smarty declared it was mating season. Special friends who didn’t already have foals were hard at work making more, and the younger fluffies paired up for the first time. Even though he was on the bottom rung, the brown colt was trying his luck and his target was a filly with dull colours. Though not as bad as his, she was far from popular; if any filly in the herd was going to like him, it would be her.

‘Ah, hewwo pwetty fwuffy' the colt said nervously, ‘du pwetty fwuffy wan be-

‘Nu!’

‘Huh?’

‘Nu wan be dummeh poopie fwuffy's speciaw fwend! Fwuffy nu wan hav dummeh poopie babbehs, wan pwetty babbehs!’

Even if he wasn’t that shocked, he was still hurt deeply. The colt left without another word, retreating to the poopie den; he just managed to get inside before he burst into tears. That night, long after the rest of the herd was asleep, he was still crying.

‘Huhuhuhu wan speciaw fwend! Wan famiwy! Huhuhuhu wan wub! Nu faiw!’ Lost in his misery, he didn’t notice the alicorn walking up until it was on top of him. ‘Eee! Wat fwuffy doi-’

‘Shud up dummeh!’ The alicorn hissed. ‘Pwetty mawes nu wan be fwuffy’s speciaw fwend!!’ A chill went through the brown colt. ‘Dummeh poopie fwuffy am-’

‘NUUU! NU WAN BE ENFIE FWUFFY!’ The colt broke free and ran into the forest. He had no idea if the alicorn was following him, but he wasn't going to find out. He run until he was out of breath and his legs felt ready to fall off. Breathing hard, he found himself alone in the dark forest. He was lost and scared, but at least he was free from his tormentors.

#

‘*Sigh* wai nu one wub fwuffy?’ he said to his reflection. ‘Nu mean be poopie cowahs-’

*SPLASH*

The sudden noise broke the stallion out of his misery. It had come from his left, close enough for him to be frightened. He turned and ran back to the path back to the shack and didn’t stop until he was back inside the old building. Later when he calmed down, the stallion left to find more food for his stockpiles.

#

The next day started the same as the last; wake up, stretch, shit.

While the memory of the splash was still fresh in his mind, it wasn’t anything new to the stallion. There were scary things around, and he'd learnt how to avoid most of them. Despite his worries, he left for the river.

*Lap lap lap*

The refreshing water of the river was one of the few pleasures in his life, giving at least a small feeling of happiness-

‘Cawefuw babbehs, nu gu in wawa!’

The stallion turned his head; partway down the bank, a family of fluffies had walked out of the forest. The mare and her special friend took turns drinking while the other watched their foals, five in total. The colts and fillies ran around and played on the bank, and were occasionally carried away from the water’s edge by one of their parents.

The brown stallion watched the family, the stabbing pain in his heart growing by the second. In the little group, he saw everything he wasn't allowed to have because of what he looked like; company, friends, love...

‘Huhuhuhuhu’ he cried. 'Nu faiw!'

‘Am fwuffy otay?’

The stallion looked up; it wasn’t one of the family asking him that, they hadn’t noticed him. He looked around, searching for who-

‘Du fwuffy hav saddies? Yu wan huggies?’

The creature talking to him lay on the bank half in and out of the water. It looked like a fluffy with it’s green fluff, and it spoke like one too. But its legs were, wrong. The stallion stared at the odd creature, curiosity turning to fear as he processed what he was seeing. He’d never seen anything like it in his life.

‘Fwuffy wan huggies? Fwuffy giv huggies.’

The strange fluffy shuffled forward out of the water; the way it moved was so unnatural, so unlike anything he’d seen! The stallion took a step back, and the strange fluffy stopped. ‘P-pwease nu hav scawdies, fwuffy nu wan giv huwties!' Despite the creature’s assurances, the stallion’s heart was beating loudly in his chest. He’d been tricked enough before not to trust another fluffy’s word, let alone the words of, whatever this thing was.

‘Fwuffy nu wan giv huwties’ the thing said more urgently, ‘fwuffy nu am-’

‘SCREE! MUNSTAH!’

The stallion whipped his head around; one of the foals had walked up to see what was happening. The strange fluffy had a look of panic on her face; ‘Nu! Fwuffy nu am munstah! Nu wan giv huwties tu wittwe bab-’

‘SCREE! MUMMAH! PEEP! SABE BABBEH!’

‘Stay way fwom babbeh munstah!’ The foal’s father charged down the bank towards the creature.

‘Nu! Fwuffy nu am munstah! Nu wan huwt-’

‘Go way dummeh munstah!' The stallion roared, jumping between his foal and the creature. Rearing up, he brought his hooves down on the creature.

*SMACK SMACK*

‘SCREEEE! NU HUWT FWUFFY!’ The strange creature flopped away from the enraged stallion and disappeared beneath the water.

With the danger over the stallion ran to his foal and scooped the terrified filly into his chest. ‘Dewe dewe babbeh, munstah nu am hewe nu mowe. Yu am safe nao.’

‘Huhuhu peep! Wowstest scawies! Huhuhu’ the foal sobbed into her father’s fluff. Soon they were joined by the mare and the rest of the foals and the family formed a group hug around the filly.

The brown stallion had watched the entire episode from behind his hoofs in the hopes he wouldn't be seen or dragged into the fight. With the danger gone, the family noticed him at last.

‘Wat yu wan dummeh poopie fwuffy?’ The mare asked.

The stallion turned and ran back to his shack, badly shaken by what had happened. Back in the relative safety of his nest, he was able to calm down. Even so, he decided against going out to find food that day. That turned out to be a wise choice, as a few hours later he heard a familiar voice.

‘Wook babbehs, nyu housie!’

The stallion looked through a small hole in the wall; the same family from the river was making their way towards the shack. Despite his intense loneliness, the way family had spoken to him at the river told the stallion all he needed to know about how they’d treat him.

He waited until they were close, and took a deep breath;

‘SCREEEEEEE!’

The family stopped in their tracks.

‘SQUEEEEEE! REEEEEE!’ The stallion smacked parts of the shack with his hooves. ‘NU NUM FWUFFY! NU WAN FOWEWA SWEEPIES!’

The family looked terrified; the babies peeped and soiled themselves, and the stallion heard the mare say ‘Hav wun way speciaw fwend!’ Her special friend was staying put though.

‘NU NUM FWUFFY! TUMMEH SKETTIES NU AM NUMMIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! REEEEEEEEEEEEE!’

The stallion’s final effort broke the other stallion's resolve, and he and his family fled into the forest. The stallion breathed a sigh of relief; his trick worked every time. He’d driven off whole herds with it. But it didn’t make him happy. The stallion didn't want to drive them off, but it was either that or lose his home. Having had quite enough for the day, he went back to his nest and went to sleep.

#

The encounter at the river left the stallion shaken, and unwilling to go back. The strange fluffy creature had said it didn’t want to hurt him, but for all he knew it was a monster that would drag him into the river and eat him. However, he still needed water, and the river was the only place nearby he could find it fresh. Fighting his fear, the stallion walked the path to the river.

The bank was deserted, with no sign of the strange fluffy or any normal fluffies; that was good. Still, the stallion watched from the safety of the bushes for a long time until he dared to step into the open. Creeping forward, always on the lookout for threats, the stallion walked to the water's edge and drank his fill. As he did, he heard something just over the sound of the river.

‘Huhuhuhu’

There was no mistaking it; somewhere, a fluffy was crying. The stallion looked around, searching for the source. It sounded like it was coming from his left, where the river turned a corner and ran by a some trees that had fallen into the water. Part of him wanted to leave, but something pushed him to go look. The crying got louder the further he went down the bank; soon he could make out some words.

‘-nu one wub fwuffy? Nu am munstah huu.'

Closer and closer he moved, finding a strange gathering of reeds and other foliage; the crying was coming from somewhere inside it. The stallion crept around the front and peeked inside;

‘Huuuhuhu wai nu one wub fwuffy? Miss famiwy huhuhu!’

The strange fluffy from yesterday sat in the middle of a nest; covering its face with while it cried its eyes out over the same things the stallion often cried himself to sleep over. The stallion remembered how the fluffy had tried to offer him comfort when he was crying; he'd spurned the offer, and thinking about that made him feel something that as a fluffy he had no words for. A human would probably call it shame.

The strange feeling in his heart outweighed the fear.

‘H-hewwo? Fwuffy, hav saddies?’

The strange fluffy stopped crying and looked at the stallion with tear soaked eyes; for a moment he wanted to run. But he stayed put.

‘Du f-fwuffy wan *gulp* wan huggies?’

The strange fluffy stared at him; he couldn't know it, but the peculiar fluffy felt the same apprehension he did. After a few moments, it nodded. The stallion walked up and gingerly wrapped his legs around the strange fluffy, who after a few moments returned the hug. Its legs felt strange, all bendy and soft. But at the same time, this was the first real hug he'd ever had, and it felt so good.

The stallion hugged the strange fluffy tighter and began to cry.

#

‘Wai am fwuffy awone?’ The strange fluffy asked the stallion; the pair sat on the river bank, watching the water flow past.

‘Fwuffy jus awone. Had hewd, wong time gu’ the stallion said, ‘bud day meanies.’

‘Cause yu am poopie cowahs?’

The stallion nodded. ‘Wai fwuffy nu tink fwuffy am bad?’

‘Nu wan be meanie’ the strange fluffy explained. ‘Nu one wub fwuffy, day tink fwuffy am munstah.’

‘Wat am fwuffy?’ The stallion asked. ‘Newa see fwuffy wike yu befow.’

‘Fwuffy am fwuffy!’ The strange fluffy said. ‘Jus wive in wawa, dat aww.’

‘Bud wawa am bad fow fwuffies!’

‘Hehehe siwwy, wawa am gud fow fwuffies! Dewe am wots of fishie nummies, an yu can pway swimmie tag!'

‘Wat am swimmie tag?’ The stallion asked.

‘Id am bestest game ewa!’ The strange fluffy said. ‘Fwuffy pwayed wif bwudda an sissies aww dah time!’ The strange fluffy’s cheery face fell. ‘Bud, bud nu see dem in wong time.’

‘Whewe bwudda an sissies?’

The strange fluffy looked at the river for a moment. ‘Fwuffy nu knu, nu see famiwy since dah big wawas came...’

#

Morning broke on a stretch of river bank. Not long after, four strange creatures emerged from den carved from thick reeds and other foliage. They flopped down the bank to the edge of the gently flowing river, babbling happily as they went.

‘Swimmie chasie!’

‘Babbeh gun catch yu dis time bwudda!’

Once in the water, the awkward animals changed to fast swimmers; they were seal fluffs, one of the few fluffy sub-species Hasbio got past the prototype stage before its collapse. The four seal fluffs swam around in the clear gently flowing water, chasing each other in their version of huggie tag. Every few moments, one of them broke the surface for air before diving back into the game. When a lime green cub broke the surface to breathe, one of her brothers took the chance to tag her. ‘Squeehe!' The cub dived back down and went after her brother.

The cubs could have played their game all day, but it wasn't long at all before they were interrupted by their father. The male seal-fluff dove into the water and shepherded his brood back to the bank. ‘Nu time fow pway babbehs’ he said to the cubs assembled on the bank, ‘Daddeh an babbehs hav tu fin nummies fow Mummah! Tummeh babbehs am cumin soon!’

‘Yay! Big babbehs gun fin bestest nummies fow soon bwuddas an sissies!’ One of the colts cheered.

‘Otay den babbehs, fowwow daddeh!' The stallion led his cubs into the water, and they trawled up and down the river for food. With his speed and experience, the stallion went after fish, catching a decent sized one quickly, and his cups concentrated on gathering aquatic plants. Everything they collected was taken back to the nest; the stallion gave the fish to his mate, and the heavily pregnant dam devoured it.

The stallion and the cubs worked for most of the morning gathering food for the dame, and to feed themselves. Part way through their food-finding mission they stopped to rest and eat some of what they found to restore their energy. Not all of them wanted to sit still though.

‘Babbeh wan keep swimmies!’ The lime green seal-fluff filly flopped back to the water and dove in; she swam happily through the water, loving the feel of it flowing over her waterproof fluff and how fast she could duck and wave through it.

*SPLASH*

The filly launched herself out of the water; on the bank, her sibblings cheered and her father grinned with pride. Little did any of them know, danger was brewing.

A few miles upstream was a modest earthen dam, built for some purpose long since forgotten. Years of natural forces had weakened the wall, gradually reducing its strength day by day. If someone had been paying attention, they would have noticed the signs of imminent collapse, but no-one did. It had been years since anyone had taken an interest in the dam, just another forgotten piece of infrastructure in the vast American West. No one would care or be affected when it finally failed. At least, no humans.

It began with a small landslip, opening the way for a trickle of water to flow over the wall. The trickle grew exponentially, becoming a strong flow within a few minutes that cut through the dam wall like a knife. Like a demolition, the wall gave way, releasing the small lake of water it had held back for so long.

Back at the river bank, the stallion was the first to notice something was wrong; he heard a low rumble in the distance. A monster? Some other danger? He wasn’t going to wait in the open to find out.

‘Quick babbehs! Gu tu safe pwace!!’ The 3 cubs fled to the nest as fast as their limbs would take them. The stallion made to join them, but remembered his last cub still in the water. ‘Babbeh! Babbeh!’ He yelled at the water, ‘Munstah cummin! Gu tu safe pwace!’

In the river, the green filly didn’t hear her father's warning and continued swimming. The stallion flopped to the edge of the water and slapped it with his flippers. The splashing caught the attention of the cub, but she thought it was a game; coming to the surface she hit the water with her flippers too, giggling happily until her father yelled.

‘BABBEH GET OUD OF WAWA! MUNSTAH CUMIN!’

The cub looked around, trying to see where the danger was.

‘NAO BABBEH!’ Her father’s yell prompted the cub to swim for the shore, but by then the danger was upon them; the river was running faster and faster, heralding the arrival of the torrent. The stallion turned and saw the wall of water racing towards him; he turned and fled for the safety of the den. Behind him his cub made it to shore and flopped her way up the bank, racing for the den.

For a few moments, it looked like the cub would reach the safety of the den. But the water was faster. As the main body of the surge passed the river swelled faster than the cub could move.

‘Screee!' The wave overtook filly and carried her away. Turing to the scream, the stallion was treated to a glimpse of his cub being carried off by the torrent.

‘BABBEH NU!’ He screamed until he was forced to keep moving by the rapidly rising water. Making it to the den, he and the rest of his family watched in terror as the water came ever closer.

‘Sabe soon-mummah speciaw fwend!’

‘Peep! Mummah!’

‘Scawies! Nu wike big wawa!’

Huddled in fear the family waited to be washed away, but they were in luck; the surge reached it’s peak just short of the den. They breathed a sigh of relief, but their joy was short lived.

‘Whewe sissie?' One of the colt's asked.

The other cubs and the dam looked around the den; sure enough, the green filly was nowhere to be.

‘Babbeh? Babbeh?’ The dam looked at her make. ‘Whewe am babbeh speciaw fwend?’

‘Babbeh... b-babbeh *sob*’ the stallion broke down into tears, which could mean only one thing. They spent time waiting for the water to recede crying.

Meanwhile, the little filly struggled to survive the raging torrent; swimming against it proved useless, so all she could do was try to keep going. She swam with the current, snatching breaths when she could, and did her best not to die. It seemed to last forever, but eventually, the torrent ran out of steam and cub escaped to the bank.

Flopping out of the water the filly gasped and panted, utterly exhausted. As her strength returned, something dawned on the little creature; she was far from her family, lost, and utterly alone.

#

‘Fwuffy nu cud fin famiwy’ the seal-fluff said with teary eyes. ‘Newa see dem gain. Twy make nyu fwends bud *sob* day say fwuffy am munstah huhuhuhu!’

The brown stallion hugged the seal-fluff; ‘Nu cwy, fwuffy nu tink yu munstah.’

‘*Sniff* w-weawy?’

‘Nu.’

‘Tank yu’ The seal-fluff hugged him back. ‘Yu wan be fwuffy's fwend?’

The stallion was taken aback. The only thing he’d ever known from other fluffies was rejection and hatred; even the other poopie fluffies in the herd only talked to him because they had no other options. And now, there was a fluffy, strange and scary as it was, who wanted to be his friend.

‘YES!’ The stallion said louder than he meant, ‘Fwuffy wub be nyu fwend!’ The stallion hugged his first real friend close.

#

Now that he had a real friend, the stallion’s daily routine changed. He still walked to the river every morning for water, but instead of a quick stop, now he stayed with his new friend for as long as possible.

‘Do fwend wan twy fishie nummies?’ His friend asked him one day as he left to search for food.

‘Wat am fishie nummies?’ He asked.

‘Fishie nummies am bestest nummies!' The seal-fluff's insistence that fishie nummies were indeed the best got the stallion interested.

‘Otay. How get fishie nummies?’

‘Fwom wawa siwwy!’

The stallion looked at the flowing river; there was no way he was going in that. ‘Nu wowwie fwend,' the seal-fluff said, apparently reading his mind, ‘fwuffy fin fishie nummies fow yu!’ The seal-fluff flopped into the water, leaving the stallion to wait by the bank. A little while later she breached the surface of the water, a glistening fish held in her mouth. She went to her friend and dropped the fish at his feet.

‘Dis am fishie nummies!' She said, proud of her catch. The stallion, on the other hand, looked at the fish with puzzlement; once or twice he'd seen them jump out of the water, or dead and decayed on the bank. He looked back at his friend, who smiled and nodded. The Stallion leaned down to take a bite out of the fish, only for it to spasm and twitch.

‘Screeee!' The stallion jumped back, cowering behind a piece of driftwood.

‘Hehehe' the seal-fluff giggled, leaned down to bite the head of the fish; while scared by what his friend did, the stallion was glad the fish wasn't moving anymore. With the fish still, the seal-fluff looked back at her friend.

‘Cum on fwend, fishie nu move nu mowe.’ The stallion crept forward, leaned down and took a bite of the-

*Blerack!* The stallion spat the slimy mouthful out. 'Nu taste pwetty! Dat nu gud nummies!’

‘Am tuu!’ The seal fluffy said. ‘Am bestest nummies ewa! Yu hav dummeh nummie pwace.’

‘Nu hav dummeh nummie pwace!’ The stallion said.

‘Dummeh nummie pwace! Dummeh nummie pwace!’ The seal-fluff teased.

The stallion felt angry and puffed out his cheeks, but for some reason, he felt like laughing. Maybe he didn't want to get in a fight with his only friend, or perhaps he knew she wasn't trying to be mean. The stallion started giggling despite himself, and the two friends spent a while laughing by the river bank.

When the two friends finally stopped laughing the stallion asked ‘Otay, fwend wan twy oda bestest nummies?’

‘Wat oda bestest nummies?’ The seal-fluff asked ‘Dewe nu oda bestest nummies sept fow fishie nummies!’

‘Am tuu!’ The stallion said, ‘Day am bewwy nummies! Bestest bestest nummies!’

‘Nu beweave yu’ the seal-fluff said.

‘Fwuffy show yu! Wait hewe!’

The stallion ran back to his shack and grabbed some berries from a stockpile; unwise a decision as it was, he wanted to prove his point. Not long after he returned to the river where his friend was swimming lazily in the shallows. He put the berries down on the bank.

‘Hewe! Dese am bewwy nummies!’

The seal-fluff emerged from the water and shuffled over. She sniffed the berries and after looking at her friend, ate a couple.

*Pahhhk!* The seal-fluff spat the berries out. ‘Dose nu am gud nummies! Tuu sweeties! ’

‘Am tu!’ the stallion teased. ‘Yu hav dummeh nummie pwace teheheh!’

The seal-fluff spat a few more times as the stallion laughed at his friend's expense. ‘Nu wike dummeh bewwy nummies!' she said. ‘Fwuffy gun fin mowe fishie nummies!’ The seal-fluff turned and dragged herself to the water. The stallion laughed for a few moments before going to take the rest of berries back to the-

‘Hey dummeh!’

The stallion froze, hair standing on end; slowly he turned in the direction of the noise. Not far away, near the edge of the trees, stood a group of four fluffies. Their leader, a bright crimson unicorn, stepped forward.

‘Whewe yu fin dose nummies dummeh?’

The stallion stepped back, looking left and right for an escape; any chance he had was quashed when the fluffies fanned out and blocked his paths.

‘Whewe yu fin dose nummies dummeh? Yu teww Smawty nao!’

The stallion was terrified; he thought about giving the stallions what they wanted and sending them in a wrong direction, but what was the chance they’d make him show them where he meant? There was no way he was going to lead them back to his-

‘Yu teww smarty nao ow fwuffies make yu enfie fwuffy an giv yu fowewa sweepies!’

The stallion wet himself; he wasn't a fighter, not that it mattered with four of them and one of him. His escapes were blocked, except for the water. He couldn’t swim, but drowning would be better than being their-

*SPLASH*

The stallion screamed in fright as cold water washed over him; the fluffies on the bank jumped back, except the smarty, jumped back.

‘YU NU HUWT FWEND MEANIE!’ the seal-fluff yelled at the smarty. ‘YU WEAVE OW FWUFFY GIV YU SWAPPIES!’

The smarty stared at the seal-fluff. He was unsure what to do, but puffed up his cheeks and stiffened, ready to fight; no matter what this thing was, there was no way it could fight off all four of-

‘SCREEE! MUNSTAH! WUN WAY!’ The toughie, a light blue earthie ran headlong back into the trees.

‘NU NUM FWUFFY! NU NUM FWUFFY!’ A second toughie ran down the bank.

‘SCREEE!’ The third toughie ran around in blind panic, not seeing where he was going. ‘SCREEE! WUN WAY WU-

*Splash*

‘NU! WAWA AM BA *COUGH* HE-*KAFF* *gurgle.*

The stallion’s momentum took him just far enough into the water so he couldn’t get back to shore. After a short struggle, he slipped beneath the water out of sight. The smarty was devoid of back-up, facing down the stallion and the seal-fluff alone.

‘Dummehs!’ he turned and disappeared back into the forest.

The seal-fluff turned to her friend; ‘No wowwie fwend, mean fwuffieEEE!' The stallion latched onto the seal-fluff, sobbing deeply; even with the life he'd lived, such a threat on his life affected him profoundly. He hugged his friend close and sobbed into her damp fur.

#

It was late in the afternoon, and the stallion was visiting his friend by the side of the river after a long day of food gathering the. They traded stories, played what few games they had figured out how to play, and kept each other company.

As the light faded the stallion said goodbye to his friend and turned to leave, but the sea fluff asked ‘Wai fwend awways sweepies awone?’

The stallion turned to his friend. ‘Nu knu’ he said after a while, ‘fwuffy jus du.’

‘Du, du fwend wan...’ the seal fluffy looked away. ‘Du fwend wan, sweep in nestie wif fwuffy?’

It was another first for the stallion; in the herd, the poopie fluffies only formed fluff piles out of necessity. None of them were close; they stuck together because they had no one else. To sleep in a fluff pile with a fluffy that wanted him there, who was a real friend, that was something he didn’t dare dream about.

‘W-weww?’

The stallion snapped back to reality; his friend was looking at him with anticipation and embarrassment. She flinched slightly when the stallion yelled ‘Fwuffy wub sweep in nestie wif fwend!’ Not long after the two outcasts were fast asleep in their two-member fluff pile. Anyone who snuck up on the pair would have seen that they both had huge smiles on their faces, especially the stallion.

#

‘Fwuffy wan knu sumtin.’

‘Mmm?’ The seal-fluff, mouth full of fish turned to her friend.

The stallion had been thinking for a long time. There was a question he wanted to ask that scared him to death.

‘Am fwuffy *gulp* am fwuffy a mawe?’ The stallion asked.

‘Mhmm’ the seal-fluff nodded her head, still chewing.

‘Fwuffy been tinkin' the stallion said. ‘Fwuffy wike bein fwends, bud...' the stallion's mouth seized. The last time he asked this question he had his heart broken, but he forced himself to speak; ‘Fwuffy wan *cough* fwuffy wan be speciaw fwends!' The stallion froze, his body tense. He waited for the yelling, the laughing, the disappointment and the heartbreak. He knew that there was only one way it could-

‘Yes!’

The stallion turned, and saw his friend looking at him with an enormous smile; ‘Fwuffy wub be speciaw fwends!’ The seal-fluff lurched forwards and enveloped the stallion in a massive hug. ‘Wub yu nyu speciaw fwend!’

‘Wub yu tuu nyu speciaw fwend!’ The stallion said, returning the hug with tears in his eyes, ‘Wub yu su much!’

The two spent the rest of the day hugging and nuzzling each other. Part way through the afternoon the stallion left to grab a few extra bits of food for this stockpile and check on the shack but came back soon after. He had no intention of sleeping by himself. As night fell, the pair retreated to the seal-fluff's den.

The stallion, nervously at first but with growing confidence, nuzzled his special friend a little more amorously, going a little bit further each time. The seal-fluff was receptive though, and it didn’t take long until he mounted her. *Enf enf enf* After a few tentative thrusts, he stopped.

‘Uh, nu can fin speciaw pwace...’ he said gingerly.

The seal-fluff giggled, herself a little embarrassed, and shifted her body around. It took some time, but eventually, the pair figured it out.

*Enf enf enf enf enf enf enf*

*ip ip ip ip ip ip ip ip*

The two lovebirds became lost in the act; the rest of the world might as well have been dead.

*Enf enf enf enf enf* ‘G-gud FEEWS!'

The stallion’s mind and body were engulfed by a powerful tingling sensation he before never dreamed of experiencing; for a few moments everything that troubled and concerned him, even the pain of his youth was gone. As the tingling faded it was replaced by an intense burning affection for his special friend, which the seal-fluff felt in turn.

The pair continued to nuzzle and coo at one another long into the night until they finally fell asleep, blissfully wrapped in each other’s embrace.

#

After the first time, the stallion and the seal-fluff spent even more time together, save for the stallion's continued food finding trips and inspections of his shack. The stallion may have loved his special friend, but he was unwilling to abandon his shack and the stockpiles inside. Once or twice he had to scare wandering fluffies away, even wait until a family left before sneaking back in and frightening them away.

Most of his nights were spent in the seal-fluff’s den; the two could hardly keep to themselves. When they weren't having special huggies, they were affectionately hugging and nuzzling one another. For the stallion it was heaven on earth; a few weeks ago he was lonely and miserable, but now he had everything he’d dreamed of. Then, his special friend informed him he’d be getting even more.

‘Speciaw fwend!’ she said excitedly one day after he came back from checking his shack.

‘What am wong speciaw fwend?’ He couldn’t help but be concerned, but the huge smile on the seal-fluff’s face meant it couldn’t be that bad.

‘Speciaw fwend, fwuffy am soon-mummah!’

For a few moments, the stallion stood in silence, not believing what he'd just heard. Even with all the firsts he'd experienced, surely this couldn't be real. There was no way that-

‘Fwuffy am gun be mummah! An speciaw fwend gun be daddeh!’

‘Fwuffy, gun be daddeh? Slowly the stallion accepted what he had heard. FWUFFY AM BE DADDEH!’ Joy unlike anything he’d known flooded his body; foals of his very own! It could be the start of a herd, or at the very least a family. He’d never be alone again. ‘Fwuffy am su happies speciaw fwend!’ he said hugging the seal-fluff close. ‘Biggest bestest happies ewa!’

But as he revelled in the joy of the news, a thought dawned on him. Even though they were still a little way off, they would be here soon. ‘Bud, bud cowd times am cumin!' he said, suddenly panicked. ‘Cowd times am bad fow babbehs! Dewe nu nummies-'

‘Nu wowwie speciaw fwend!’ the seal-fluff said. ‘Dewe am stiww fishie nummies in cowd times! Fwuffy can catch dem an make miwkies fow babbehs tiww day can hav big fwuffy nummies!’

The stallion wasn’t convinced. ‘Am speciaw fwend suwe?’

‘Yes speciaw fwend, daddeh say dat he du dat when fwuffy’s mummah was soon-mummah!’ The seal-fluff said. ‘Fwuffies an babbehs gun be otay!’

He was worried, but his special friend's confidence eased his concern. ‘Otay speciaw fwend' he said at last. ‘Fwuffies gun hav bestest babbehs!' The two embraced once more, looking forward to facing the challenge together and meeting their offspring at the end of it.

The daily routines of the parents to be shifted dramatically; everything now revolved around their developing offspring. For the seal-fluff that meant catching and eating fish for most of the day. She also gathered aquatic plants and stockpiled them in her den for when she was too big to catch fish, a day which was fast approaching.

The seal-fluff swelled as the days passed and she got slower and slower. It didn’t take long before she lost her edge on the fish, and she had to settle for the plants in the water. Those sufficed for a time, but she quickly exhausted what she could find within reach of the den and soon after that her stockpiles. It was up to the stallion to gather the food his special friend and their offspring needed.

It was the single hardest tasks he'd ever had. It was hard enough to find enough food for himself; now he had to find enough for both him and his special friend. Food had become even more scarce. Occasionally the stallion managed to find a fish on the river bank that was still fresh enough for his special friend to eat, but it was a never-ending battle.

Eventually, the stallion was forced to dig into his stockpiles to supplement the efforts. Piles that had taken him weeks to build up were depleted in a few days. It didn't concern him though; his special friend and their babies needed it more than he did. Besides, it would all be worth it in the end, especially when his special friend could swim properly again.

#

The seal-fluff had swelled to her fattest point. Already awkward on land, she had become effectively immobile. The stallion continued to bring her food and other than that hardly left her side. Caring for his special friend had been difficult, but he didn’t regret it all. Their babies were on the way, and after that everything would be fine.

‘Fwuffy am su sited’ he said one night as the pair settled down to sleep. ‘Nu can wait tu meet babbehs.’

‘Fwuffy nu can wait ebah speciaw fwend’ the seal-fluff cooed. ‘Fwuffy an speciaw fwend gun be bestest mummah an daddeh fow bestest babbehs!’

‘Bestest babbehs ewa’ the stallion said nuzzling the seal-fluff. ‘Wub yu speciaw fwend.’

‘Wub yu tuu speciaw fwend’ the seal-fluff cooed before they both slipped into a blissful sleep.

The morning came and the stallion yawned, leaving the den to look for food. He'd go by a few new spots, and if he didn't find anything he'd loop back to get some from his-

‘SCREEEEE!’

The stallion whipped his head around. The scream had come from the-

‘SPECIAW FWEND HEWP! BABBEHS CUMIN! BABBEHS CUMIN!’

The stallion galloped back to the den as fast as his stubby legs could manage. He found the seal-fluff flopping around the nest in agony. ‘SCREEEE HUHUHU WOWSTEST HUWTIES! HEWP!’ He rushed forward and hugged her close.

‘Nu wowwie speciaw fwend, fwuffy am hewe-’

‘SCREEEEEEE!! BIGGEST POOPIES!!! SCREEEEEEE!!’

*Splort*

The soft wet sound somehow made it through the noise; the stallion's hair stood on end. A baby, their first baby! He made to look, but the seal-fluff stopped him. ‘NU WEAVE FWUFFY HUHU! NU WEEEEEEEEEEEE!'

*Splort*

The sound came again; two babies! The stallion could hardly contain his excitement, but he stayed with his special friend and helped her through the pain.

*Splort*

*Splort*

‘Screeee *haf haf* eeee huhuhuhu nu *haf* nu can dis nu mowe huhuhuhu' the seal-fluff was near exhaustion.

‘Yu can du it speciaw fwend!’ the stallion yelled. ‘Du it fow babbehs!’

The seal-fluff grit her teeth and put every shred of strength she had left into birthing her last foal. *Haf haf HAF* SCREEEEE!’

*Splort*

‘Yu did it speciaw fwend!’ The stallion cheered. ‘Babbehs am hewe! Fwuffies am mummah an daddeh nao!’ The seal-fluff looked up; she was too exhausted to talk, but the smile on her face was enormous. ‘Cum on speciaw fwend’ the stallion pushed the seal-fluff around, ‘nee *grunt* giv babbehs wickie cweanies an miwkies!’

Despite her exhaustion, the seal-fluff summoned the energy to turn herself around; the two proud parents turned to face their offspring, and got ready to welcome them into the-

‘W-wha…?’

The five foals lay still on the reedy floor of the den, covered in amniotic fluid and a few spots of blood. The two fluffies knew enough to know that their foals should be cheeping and wriggling like mad, but they didn’t.

‘B-babbeh?’ The stallion gently prodded one of the foals with his hoof. Then again, and again. It didn't chirp, didn't move, didn't react at all. Slowly, his eyes panned over the other foals; on closer inspection, he realised none of them looked right. One foal's stubby legs morphed into flipper-like limbs part way down their length. Another had a deformed flipper where his rear legs should have been. Another had two heads instead of one, another had no legs, and the last had a patch of skin where its mouth should have-

‘W-wai babbehs nu move’ the seal-fluff said softly. ‘Wai nu chiwpies?’

The stallion stared at their malformed offspring, ears flattening against his head. Slowly he accepted the reality that stared him in the face. ‘Babbehs am fowewa sweepies’ he breathed. His words hung heavy in the air.

‘*Sniff* *Sob*’ Tears welled in the seal-fluff’s eyes. ‘*Sob* uuuhuhuhu *sob* baaaaabbeeeehsss!’ she wailed, her hopes crushed.

The stallion felt his eyes watering; every fibre of his being wanted to break down and cry, but he wouldn't let himself. He had to be strong for his special friend.

‘WAAAAHAAAHUHUHUHU! WAI BABBEHS FOWEWA SWEEPIEHEHEHEES??!?! WAT DU WONG HUHUHU!!!’

The stallion wanted to say something, but what could he say to cheer her up when he felt the same pain? He stayed quiet and held his speciaw friend close as she sobbed and cried hysterically for what seemed like hours. Finally, she stopped crying, but her breathing was still shaky and hitched constantly. The stallion felt her shaking and shivering and knew he had to say something now.

‘Am sowwies speciaw fwend!’ he said. ‘Fwuffy nu mean giv yu dummeh babbehs! Fwuffy su sowwies!’ Nothing he said got a response; the seal-fluff continued her distressed breathing and occasional sobbing. He kept hugging her, hoping it would snap her out of it. He needed her to snap out of it. Their babies were dead, but they would still have one another no matter what. They'd still hav each-

‘F-fwuffy am...’

The stallion's ears perked up. ‘Speciaw fwend?’

‘Fwuffy am *sob* fw-fwuffy a-am-’

‘Fwuffy am hewe speciaw fwend’ the stallion said. ‘Pwease nu hav mowe saddies, fwuffy am hewe speciaw fwend!’

‘Fwuffy am, fwuffy am munstah.’

The stallion froze. He couldn't have heard that right; he couldn't have. ‘S-speciaw fwend?'

‘Fwuffy am munstah’ the seal-fluff said flatly.

The stallion was speechless; what was she saying? How could she-

‘Fwuffy am munstah! AM MUNSTAH HUHUHUHU!’

‘Nu speciaw fwend! Nu say dat’ the stallion yelled, hugging his special fiend as hard as he could. ‘Fwuffy wub yu! Speciaw fwend nu-

‘AM MUNSTAH!’

*Swat*

The stallion felt the wind knocked out of him and the next thing he knew he was on his side. His senses returned and he scrambled to his feet just in time to see his special fiend making a beeline for the water!

‘Speciaw fwend nu!' He cried running after her. ‘Nu wun way!' The stallion managed to catch up with the seal-fluff but when he tried to hug her he earned another flailing flipper to the head. ‘NU! PWEASE SPECIAW FWEND!’ the stallion screamed. ‘NU WUN WAY! NU-’

*SPLASH*

The stallion watched at the seal-fluff launched herself into the river, for a few seconds he could see her moving under the water. ‘NU!' He sprinted down the bank in the direction he thought the seal-fluff had gone. ‘SPECIAW FWEND WAIT! NU WUN WAY! NU WUN WAY!' His run was stopped by an errant branch, and he face planted into the gravel.

‘OWWIES HUHUHUHU!’ he cried stumbling to his feet. On shaky legs, he walked to the edge of the water. ‘SPECIAW FWEND! SPECIAW FWEND! NU WUN WAY!’ His cries were met by silence. ‘PWEASE SPECIAW FWEND! YU NU AM MUNSTAH! NU WEAVE! NU WEAVE FWUFFY AWW AWONE!’

The stallion begged his special friend to come back until his voice gave out. In desperation he walked up and down the river bank trying to catch sight of her. But she was gone. The setting sun forced him to seek shelter, and the stallion’s heart broke all over again.

Back in the safety of his shack the stallion curled up in his nest and cried, cried in the way that’s only possible when you lose something you’ve wanted all your life.

Outside, the first snow storm of the season gathered, and tiny white flakes fell to the ground.

#

Chester trudged through the ankle-deep snow, insulated boots keeping most of the cold out. Today the air was still, bringing relief from the horrendous wind chill and allowing him to go without a ski mask. It wasn’t the wisest choice, but winter was one of his favourite times for exploring. For one, the forest in winter fascinated him. Not to mention, the larger predators would be hibernating, making it slightly safer to wander around as he pleased. Even so, a Marlin 45-70 hung from his shoulder just in case.

Ahead through the trees, Chester saw something that looked man-made and headed for it. He loved finding abandon structures in the wilderness, standing inside and surrounding himself with the years of history they contained. When he got closer, Chester found the structure to be nothing more than an old trapper shack; notable, but not impressive like an abandoned mine shaft or rail line was.

Still, he'd made an effort to come up so he figured he might as well take a look. One of the hinges holding the door gave way when Chester pushed it open, and he pushed it aside. The inside of the shack had little of interest; the remains of basic furniture, the rusted hulk of a stove and all manner of scraps hinting at the history of the shack those who called it home.

Looking closer, Chester noticed something odd; little stockpiles of dry grass, leaf litter, berries and even a few plants, stored in little nooks and crannies around the interior. ‘Looks like something was planning to ride out the winter in here’ Chester said to himself. He let himself out and walked around the outside of the building, hoping he’d find something more interesting out-

‘What the?’

Chester looked down; there was something just under the snow. Brushing away the top layer revealed a mat of damp brown hair. Chester recoiled slightly, but since there was no stench curiosity pushed him on. He brushed away the snow and uncovering a brown fluffy, curled in a ball and frozen solid.

‘Ok..’

Chester had an answer to who made the stockpiles in the shack. No doubt the fluffy was planning on spending the winter in there, which made sense given he was probably a loner. But what was it doing outside?

If he was smart enough to set himself up in there Chester mused he probably wouldn’t have gotten lost trying to get back in. And he would have been right up next to it if that were the case, not out here. He stared at the corpse for a few minutes. It was almost like the fluffy-

‘Why would he want to kill himself?’ Chester asked out loud. After pondering the mystery for a few more moments, Chester shrugged his shoulders and stood; ‘Maybe he didn’t want to starve.’ Chester turned and walked back into the woods.