Maroonfall (9)

“Save us, O Lord, from the wrath of the northmen.”
(A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine)
-Latin prayer for protection against viking raiders, circa 850 AD

“And we who were so scorned will always wish to make their end.
Ours words to still their voice.
Our hands to break their worthless necks.”
VNV Nation, ‘Procession’



> You are Pepper, Ash Horn.
> You are currently in the Nummie Room
> Maroon just left The Rink with a bunch of fluffies.
> Apparently, Stompy is coming to give Maroon biggest owwies.
> You stayed behind when Maroon called all the Ash Horns out to give owwies to Stompy.
> This is because you don’t like Maroon, you want him to get his stupid, drooling face stomped by Stompy, and because you have had your peepers on Queenie for a little while now.
> You hope Stompy wins. That way you can have Queenie all to yourself.
> Maybe even Princess.
> The thought makes your happy thing feel tingly.
> In the corner of the Nummie Room, you see some chippies.
> Maroon likes chippies.
> So you trot over to them, smile, and crunch them up into tiny pieces under your front leggies.
> Stupid Maroon.
> Even if Stompy doesn’t stomp him, maybe you’ll give him biggest owwies yourself.
> Then you will be smarty.
> These are good plans.
> You decide to eat a berry nummie. It tastes sweet.
> “smawty Peppew…heh…Peppew wikes da sound of dat!”
> You are so smart.

----------

> You are Maroon.
> And you’re taking a break.
> Cloud stands next to you, as you watch the owwie pile get smaller and smaller as dummies get biggest owwies.
> You’re already covered in booboo juice. Not as much booboo juice as you were covered in when you took The Rink from Winter, but still quite a lot.
> After putting a hole in two dummies, you started to feel tired.
> Sparks and Cuddles are in there somewhere. You can’t see them anymore.
> Your head begins to have hurties when you think of them.
> How dare they?
> After all you’ve done for them and for unicorns, everywhere!
> You’ll bury Sparks in his own poopies.
> And you’ll show Cuddles how much better your horn is for special huggies than Sparks’ happy thing.
> You don’t think even a single one of your Ash Horns has hurties.
> “Dey nu so tough.” Cloud says. “Oh! Can Cwoud hav Cuddwes? Awways thought Cuddwles pwetty when Cwoud was babbeh.”
> You ignore him. Because you’re thinking.
> There’s something wrong…something you didn’t realize.
> There are dummies here.
> Atlas came and told you that Stompy was coming to give you owwies. You came out here and found dummies. Dummies led by stinky Scruffy.
> So there are dummies…and there’s Scruffy.
> And there’s Cuddles and Sparks.
>…But where is Stompy?
>…And where is Atlas?

----------

> You are Scruffy.
> And everything is spinning.
> A big unicorn, an Ash Horn, bucked you in your head. Hard.
> Your left peeper is closed, and hurts a lot.
> You try to keep your leggies up, to give even more owwies to the meanie Ash Horns.
> But every time you buck, kick, or butt them, they just get madder and madder, and give even bigger owwies.
> You shake your head, concentrate and spark your horn before lunging at the Ash Horn.
> Everything spins again as his hoof meets your sniffer. Booboo juice flies from it and you’re sent rolling.
> You fall on your belly and begin coughing, tasting dirt and your leaking sniffer.
> “Stoopid dummy!” the Ash Horn barks.
> You struggle to get up.
> Across from you, you see Kazoo’s toy. It’s flat, broken and splattered with booboo juice. She is no where to be found.
> Kali sleeps forever near The Home.
> Many earthies, wingies and good unicorns lay around the owwie pile here and there, covered in booboo juice, poopies and peepee, sleeping forever or crying.
> Where are Cuddles and Sparks?
> You force your leggies to work.
> “Nu…yoo stoopid, stoopid meanie poopie head.” You say as you turn around.
> You think of Peppermint and all she said.
> If you don’t try your best, then many more good fluffies will be hurt.
> The Ash Horn trots towards you, and you lunge again with your horn sparking.
> You see his hoof coming this time.
> Lowing yourself, you bring your horn up near his sniffer.
> He jumps back, holding his hoofs to face and yelling “Owwies! Buwnie owwies!”
> “Stoopid meaning poopies head with no sniffer ow no-nos!”
> He takes his hoofs away, showing a burnt sniffer. Narrowing his peepers, he trots towards you again.
> He’ll have to make you sleep forever if he wants to win.
> He can try, as far as you’re concerned.
> You stare at him. He stares back, teeth bared.
>…Wait, what’s that sound…?

----------

> You are Sparks.
> Beside you is Cuddles.
> She stomps her front hoofs, turns around and puffs her cheeks at a meanie who tried to sneak up on both of you.
> Both of you are full of dirt and booboo juice.
> You don’t know where Scruffy is.
> You’re tired. You’re hurt from the last owwie pile with Stompy.
> You don’t know if you will get biggest owwies today…but it looks like it.
> You look at Cuddles for a moment, then turn back towards the meanies who are surrounding you and her.
> Some laugh at you and her. Some blow raspberries. Most look angry.
> You spark your horn.
> There is no going back-
> “VAWHAWWA!!!!”
> What was that!?

----------

> You are Balder.
> “VAWHAWWA!!!!”
> And you race towards the meanies of ‘Best Herd’, your fellow Aesir, as well as some Fluffytown friends, following close behind
> They’re giving owwies to your friends.
> You’ll show them *real* owwies.
> You smash into a group of Ash Horns.
> You feel the head of one turn mushy between the grassies and your hoofs. The rest fall or roll away, screaming.
> A big rock flies into an Ash Horn to your right, giving in the stupid fluffy’s face. Booboo juice and teeth fly. You smile.
> Brand said he was strong enough to throw a rock. He was right! You owe him some nummies.
> You stop smiling and put on your owwie-make face.
> You bite deep into the scruff of the neck of another Ash Horn and throw him aside. He rolls away, knocking over his stupid friends as he does so.
> “dis da ‘Best Hewd’!?” you hear Gunnar yell. “Why dey aww smaww!?”
> “Mowe wike ‘Poopie Howns’, yuh!?” Brand laughs.
> You buck another Ash Horn with your back leggies, and he leaves the grassies, booboo juice trailing from a broken sniffer and mouth.
> “Nu tawk! Just owwie-make!” you yell.
> Three Ash Horns come at you from the front, left and right.
> You rear up and kick the ones on either side with one hoof before butting the one in the middle with your head.
> The runes must be doing their work: the two side Ash Horns fall back, one burying his face in the grassies, yelling that his peeper has big owwies, the other tries to hold his neck and coughs booboo juice all down into his belly fluffy.
> The one in the middle falls over, its sniffer smushed like a melty sweet bar.
> You yell in excitement. Your heart pounding.
> You see Scruffy, he is pinned under some meanie.
> Not for long, you decide, as you run toward them and buck the meanie off with all your strength.
> The All Daddy is watching. You feel his peeper upon you, your friends and your herd.
> Valhalla awaits you all if any of you sleep forever this day.

----------

> You are Precious
> And you are not in the owwie pile.
> Poopies on that. You don’t do that. Not like that at least.
> You’re watching.
> You can smell the poopies, sickies, peepees and booboo juice from here.
> You don’t want any of that stuff on you.
> A bunch of your tougies surround you, giving you big safe feels.
> You didn’t bring along Cassy. Too dangerous.
> You notice that every Ash Horn that doesn’t sleep forever from the Aesir’s owwies are made to sleep forever by your fluffies.
> Good. You don’t want to lose many herd members. All you want is Maroon’s shiny ring.
> Another thing you notice, which also makes you feel kind of scared, is when each Aesir gets hurt, they say ‘owwies’.
> They just…say it. They don’t yell or cry, they don’t hold their hurties if they have any. They don’t run or ask why they’re being hurt.
> Something isn’t right about that.
> You decide that it would be best to become better friends with the Aesir, maybe give them pretty mares or good nummies when you find them.
> You wonder if they’d like shinies-
> Wait, no. No shinies. Shinies are yours.
> All yours.

----------

> You are Maroon and what is this?
> Who are all these…big…fluffies!?
> Your head starts to pound.
> Your Ash Horns are acting like babies! And crying like them, too!
> Well, a few of them.
> “Ngh, Cwoud. Wets go.”
> You start off towards the owwie pile.
> You see now, it’s not just big fluffies that have come, but other fluffies aswell.
> Friends of Sparks and Cuddles?
> “MAWOON!”
> Out of the owwie pile, a light brown unicorn runs towards you, his teeth bared and his peepers wide with anger.
> “Cookie giv yoo biggest owwies! Yoo pay fow huwting Poppy!”
> Cloud moves to step infront of you, but you shake your head.
> “Nu…dis wun’s Mawoon’s.”
> This dummy runs at you, and jumps.
> You do what you did to Stone when he tried that.
> Duck…
> …and up with the horn!
> It gets him in his chest, and goes through him.
> “Stoopid…so stoopid…” you say.
> He gurgles as you bring your head down so that he slides off of your horn.
> That hurt your neck a little.
> He sits on his rear, looking at the big hole you put in him. Booboo juice drips from his mouth, and sad water runs from his peepers.
> “…P-Poppy…sowwy…” he whispers
> You think about leaving him sitting there. He’ll sleep forever soon.
> “Dummy…who Poppy?...” you say as you continue making your way toward the owwie pile.
> An Ash Horn falls down infront of you, his whole face looks like a metal monster hit it and the front of his neck looks like a Dog monster made nummies of it.
> You look at the Ash Horn, then look up.
> A big red wingie with a white mane is infront of you, his mouth smeared with booboo juice.
> He narrows his peepers at you.
> “Dat yoo speciaw fwend?” he asks, a smile creeping across his stupid, stupid wingie face. “Who da mawe? Gunnaw thinks it’s yoo, wat with da shiny an aww…”
> The pounding in your head gets stronger, and you rush at him, horn leading the way.
> You’ve given biggest owwies to a wingie just like him before.  This time will be no different.

----------

> You are Sticky, the blue earth fluffy slave with the gray mane.
> You’re laying down in the Slave Room. The place where your ears used to be hurt, and doesn’t smell pretty.
> You leak sad water from your peepers.
> You are cold.
> Why? You still ask yourself that question. Why did they do this to you? You’re a good fluffy!
> There was a lot of noise a little while ago. You made scared poopies when you heard it- the meanie fluffies yelling a lot. You don’t know what about.
> Its quieter now. You think you’ll try to go sleepies.
> There is a shuffling and some murmuring from the other slaves around you.
> “Who dat?” “He meanie?” “pwease nummies?”
> And some cries.
> “Pwease nu huwty!” “Dun huwt babbehs, dey guud babbehs!” “nu wan cwean poopie woom! Is stinky and nu taste pwetty, pwease nu!”
> You look up to see an orange unicorn fluffy with a white mane in the entrance of the Slave Room.
> “Fwends! Nu be scawed! Am Atwas, an Atwas come to teww yoo aww dat yoo nu swave anymo’!”
> What?
> “Da big meanie Ash Hown aww out at Big Fiewd! Yoo aww can wun ‘way! COME! FOWWOW ATWAS! AM YOO FWEND! AM GIV YOO BIG SAFIES!”
> Many slaves get up immediately and rush towards the entrance, but many more are too hurt to get up, and simply lay where they are, crying.
> Some mummahs lay their forever-sleeping babies down, and, crying and screaming, say how they’re going to hurt the bad fluffies.
> “Dey huwt Tuwip’s babbehs! DEY AWW GET BIGGEST OWWIES FWOM TUWIP!”
> Some fluffies made not-pretty from owwies likewise get mad.
> “dey take Ace’s sniffa! Ace take dey sniffas, too!”
> You yourself feel angry too.
> You’re going to make these bad fluffies pay before you run away from The Rink.
> You’re going to find one, bite its ears off and make peepee where the ears used to be.
> Just like they did to you.
> Just like they did to you!

----------

> You are Gunnar.
> And everything hurts.
> Your legs, your head, your peepers.
> You’re having a hard time breathing.
> Your heart beats so fast it feels like it may burst.
> What hurts the most is your belly.
> Dummy shiny-wearing Maroon put his horn in it.
> He was slow. Slower than you, and you’re old!
> But then his little friend bit your back leggie. You turned to buck him and…
> All it took was one second.
> This makes you angry. He still has his horn in your belly!
> You’ll fix that.
> You spit booboo juice out of your mouth, look down and put his head between your two front hoofs.
> “Dummy…” you growl, and force his head away.
> You then lift him by his head off the ground. He struggles, sniffer bleeding, peepers wide, teeth bared. His hate of you is plain to see.
> Your heart beats faster.
> You begin to squeeze.
> You smile as that look of hate turns to one of pain.
> You think you can feel the sides of his head beginning to give.
> Your left wing suddenly explodes in terrible hurties and your drop Maroon.
> “Wet go of smawty!”
> It’s his little friend again.
> Your round on him. Your wing is on the ground infront of him.
> Your heart beats even faster. You begin to feel a little tired.
> There is a tingle on the back of your neck. Something is coming. Something is about to happen.
> His little friend advances on you, his cheeks puffing, his mouth red.
> He rears up, and before he can kick out with his front leggies, you smash your head against his.
> Everything looks a little fuzzy after you do that.
> Wasn’t a good idea. But every toughie who gives good owwies knows to hit with the head.
> He falls on his back.
> Like a mumma holding her baby in her arms, you lift him up with your front leggies, your left hoof on the back of his neck, your right hoof on his rump.
> You stand on your back leggies, and raise him high over your head.
> You begin to bring your front leggies together while still holding him.
> He back makes a crackling sound that reminds you of fire.
> He screams. You scream with him.
> You see the flash in the sky and know what’s coming next.
> “SEE GUNNAW, AWW-DADDEH!?” you shout.
> Just as his back makes the final, loud *CRACK*, the sky itself roars with anger.

----------

> You are Maroon.
> And Cloud has biggest owwies. His back has been twisted to look like a hoof by this…Gunnar dummy.
> The sky roars, every fluffy, Ash Horn and stupid dummy fluffy, screams in fear. Except these big fluffies.
> Run! Run! Run! The dummies you hear sometimes say.
>*drip*
>*drip drip*
> *dripdripdripdripdripdripdrip*
> The sky begins to cry.
> “BACK TO DA WINK!” you yell as you force your leggies to make you stand.
> You then run.
> You’ll use the shiny entrance, and hold the dummy fluffies at bay there.
> You seen one Ash Horn being drowned in a small puddle of rain water by one of the big fluffies.
> Another Ash Horn gargles, unable to roll on his belly because of his broken weggies. He will drown. You know this.
> There is another flash, and another loud *CRACK*.
> You shakes your head, booboo juice rushing from your ears, sniffer, mouth, head, leggies and-
> And…
> You look up for a moment.
> The sky is crying booboo juice.
> It’s everywhere. Big Field is stained red.
> Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!
> “SHUT…SHUT…Awwwgh!”
> You look back for a moment.
> Those Ash Horns who aren’t sleeping forever follow you.
> So few left…
> Pain shoots up your leggies. You bite your lip and continue on.

----------

> You are Sparks.
> You are soaked in rain water, but you press on.
> It took a moment for the Many Friends to realize what was happening when the sky roared. The Aesir kept giving owwies despite its anger.
> As soon as they did, and realized no monsters were around, they began the chase.
> You need to catch them. You need to catch them before they get to The Rink.
> Scruffy yells at the Many Friends to go faster, but everyone is tired.
> All except for the Aesir.
> “Stop!” Scruffy yells.
> You stop, and look at Scruffy.
> The Many Friends likewise stop.
> Scruffy looks at The Rink, from one side of it to the other.
> “Spawks…dewe awe two ways in?”
> “Yus.” You say, panting.
> Scruffy spits a tooth out of his mouth before pointing at the Aesir, who are still chasing the Ash Horns.
> “Dat shiny entwance?”
> You nod.
> “We go othew entwance. Dey nu wun ‘way if nowhewe to wun. Show us whewe is, fwend!”
> “Y…yah…um…”
> You stand on your back leggies for a moment.
> “Fowwow Spawks!” you yell.
> “Fowwow Spawks!” Cuddles yells after you.
> You begin your slow run towards the other side of The Rink.

----------

> You are Balder.
> “COME OUT, SCAWDY MAWOON!” your roar into the Shiny Entrance.
> There is no answer.
> The Shiny Entrance is a little small. No more than one of your herd can go in at a time.
> This makes you angry. You want to bring your whole herd in at once.
> But you know that if enough of Small Herd jump on one of the Aesir.
> You stomp in anger.
> “Bawdew…”
> “STOOPID SCAWDY MAWOON EAT STINKY BABBEH POOPIES!”
> “Bawdew…!”
> “MAWOON WOOK WIKE UGWY MAWE!”
> “Cowt, wook at Gunnaw!”
> You whip around to face Gunnar, and immediately all your anger drains away.
> Gunnar has a very big hole in his belly. He spits booboo juice and sways slightly.
> “Gunnaw nu make it…” he hisses.
> You want to say something, but you don’t know what to say. There is no denying it. He will sleep forever before long.
> “Giv Gunnaw…Da Shwooms.”
> You bite your lip, willing the sad water to stay in your peepers, and nod.
> Rune steps forward and with Brand’s help, they start putting The Shrooms infront of Gunnar.
> When they are done, you all walk away from Gunnar, giving him a lot of space.
> The All-Daddy has decided that it is Gunnar’s time.
> Memories fly into your mind.
> You and Gunnar sleeping safely with the rest of the Aesir.
> Gunnar when he found you under your Mumma.
> Gunnar showing you how to wrestle and how to give biggest owwies.
> Gunnar rolling a rock-ball between you and him.
> The time both of you drank too much Silly Water and he mistook a patch of moss for his Bondfriend.
> All good times.
> You and the Aesir watch as Gunnaw looks at each and every one of you, smiles weakly despite his hurties, and begins eating The Shrooms.

----------

> You are Gunnar.
> You took your time to look at each and every herdmember. They were being smart and givng you alot of space. A fluffy who becomes like a Teddy monster is dangerous.
> You are a little sad you won’t see them again.
> But, Valhalla awaits.
> You start to eat The Shrooms. They don’t taste pretty.
> You are calm, and ready to sleep forever.
> Your chest begins to burn along with your leggies.
> The hole that Maroon put in you doesn’t hurt anymore.
> You begin to feel…strong. Angry.
> Small bits of white foam drip from your mouth as you begin stomping the ground and growling.
> And you speak your last words before rushing into The Shiny Entrance.
> “Aww-daddeh…Gunnaw tiwed of siwwy wawa…Gunnaw am thiwst…fow BOOBOO JUICE!”

----------

> You are Maroon.
> And this isn’t good.
> Slaves are everywhere, and they’re all giving owwies to the members of Best Herd.
> Slaves, caked in dry booboo juice, smelly white water and poopies.
> The pounding in your head starts again.
> “AWW MAWES AND BABBEHS TO SWEEPY WOOM!” you yell.
> “GIV DEM AWW BIGGEST OWWIES! DUMMY SWAVES AWW SWEEP FOWEVE-“
> Atlas is amongst them. He has no Ash on his horn.
> “…BAD ATWAS!!! BAD FWUFFY!!!”
> You begin to makes your way towards him, but then you see a huge group of fluffies coming from the far side of The Rink.
> It’s that other herd of fluffies lead by Scruffy and Sparks.
> Oh poopies.
> You’re surrounded.
> You have to find Queenie, Princess and Prince and escape!
> You rush into the new Owwie Pile, kicking, bucking, and biting your way towards The Smarty Room, hoping that they will be there, hiding.
> The screams of fear and pain get louder behind you, and you turn around.
> An Ash Horns falls infront of you with a wet slap, its head caved inwards like a deflated ball.
> “WAAAUGH!”
> It’s that big wingie, Gunnar.
> White foam flecks his lips and teeth mixed with booboo juice.
> His peepers have no white in them. Only red.
> Big Wingies…why is it always Big Wingies? You think.
> You remember putting a hole in him…how isn’t he sleeping forever!?
> You clench your teeth.
> “ASH HOWNS! GET DAT BIG WINGIE! GIV HIM BIGGEST OWWIES!”
> The Ash Horns advance on him.
> “Waaahawhaaaugh!” he bellows as he bites the first Ash Horn’s sniffer off and spits it back into the wailing toughie’s face.
> He kicks out with his back and front leggies roaring and snapping.
> He makes sounds like an angry Teddy Monster.
> Every buck and kick he lands sends either sends an Ash Horn flying, either away from him or up in the air. There is no soft *thump* when he gives owwies, only wet *crack*s and *snap*s that makes the spit well up under your tongue.
> Heads that he stomps on are smushed, peepers and teeth flying from them as he puts him weight down.
> Whole chunks of fluff are torn from both him and the Ash Horns.
> Yet he doesn’t seem to recognize his owwies. Even after two Ash Horns rip his wingies from his back, leaving only twitching red shreds, he doesn’t cry or scream.
> He does, however, laugh in between roars and yells. And it scares you.
> And all of this took only seconds.
> You rush towards him when he turns to make pink squishie mush out of one Ash Horn.
> You bury your horn all the way into his side. He doesn’t notice.
> You plunge your horn into him again, your sniffer bleeding and head pounding.
> No hope! No hope! The dummies say.
> You yell with anger yourself.
> He turns to you and swats you with his hoof.
> The taste of booboo juice floods your mouth as you smash into the nearby Grey Steps.
> You feel terrible owwies in your chest, and know by the sound you made when you hit them, that something - many things - are broken.
> You spit all your front teeth out along with a horrible, foul red, black and yellow blob of sickies and hurty water.
> You struggle back to your feet, breathing heavy, and rush him again. This time, not as fast.
> Your horn takes him in his back left leggie this time as he turned to continue his terrible hurties on your Ash Horns.
> He kicks out with that same leggie. You try to move out of the way, but you’re too hurt and too slow. It hits you in your right peeper.
> You hold it with your two front hoofs and let out a gargling cough-scream. It hurts like nothing you’ve ever felt before.
> “HAW HUUUAAAGGHH HAW!”
> You can’t see from that peeper anymore.
> As soon as he turns your way again, you quickly plunge your horn into his belly, then pull out, before leap upwards, burying it in his lower jaw.
> He gurgles and roars as you drop back down. Your sore leggie buckles and you almost fall on your face.
> He looks down at you, spitting bits of tooth, booboo juice and tongue at you.
> You leap again, this time driving your horn deep into his left peeper.
> Then you drop down again and roll away as he pitches over and crashes down.
> Panting and hacking up giant gobbets of sickies, you look at him.
> He wears his expression of hate even in the forever sleep.

----------

> You are Pepper.
> You are in the Water Room with Queenie, Princess and Prince.
> They all huddle together, shivering, as the sounds of the big owwie pile outside echoes throughout The Rink.
> You wash the Ash from your horn.
> “Dun wowwy. Peppew keep yoo aww safies. Nu fwuffies huwt us hewe.”
> Queenie looks up, tears in her peepers.
> “Bu…but Mawoon…”
> “Nu.” You say. “Dun wowwy ‘bout him. Jus wowwy fow Pwince an Pwincess.”
> You have it all planned out.
> Stay here until all the owwies stop. Escape with Queenie and her stupid babies.
> Maybe you’ll give special huggies to Princess too, now that you think of it.
> Her red mane always did make your happy thing tingle.
> A mare and her filly. One after the other. You like that sound.
> Stupid Maroon says you can’t have special huggies? Poopies on him.
> You just need to stay quiet for a while…
> Prince and Princess cry softly. Prince still whines about his hurt poopies place.
> You don’t know what that’s about. And you don’t care.
> You take a drink and smile to yourself.
> Nothing can stop you.



----------


> You are Sparks.
> The Rink is a mess.
> Booboo juice, peepees, poopies. Everywhere.
> Just like the last time. The smell makes you crinkle your sniffer.
> The Many Friends, at least those not with you, are pushing most of Best Herd mares, colts, fillies and babies into the corner near the Owwie Ring, while the slaves give owwies to the few Ash Horns that remain.
> The Aesir have joined them, their cries of “VAWHAWWA!” mixed with the screams and cries of Best Herd’s stallions.
> You and Cuddles make your way through the mess, trying not to step in the various not-pretties.
> Then you see him.
> Owwies all over, not trotting, more shuffling, like a baby trying to learn how to walk. His coat matted with booboo juice, poopies around his poopie place.
> Maroon.
> You look at Cuddles, who in turn looks back at you.
> You both nod and puff your cheeks before advancing towards him.
> No more, you decide.
> No more.


----------
> You are Maroon.
> You see them coming, and you try to scramble up the Grey Steps.
> Everything hurts so much.
> You need to escape, find your family and escape.
> But it feels like you are carrying rocks on your back, and every step you take feels like you’re stepping on sharp-owwie things.
> You look back for a moment after you clear a few of the Grey Steps.
> It’s horrible.
> Your herd…everything you’ve worked for, gone.
> Taken from you by stupid earthies, weak wingies, and unicorns who think earthies and wingies are friends.
> Angry slaves scream in anger and pain. The two sounds are exactly the same to your ears.
> Below you, group of fluffies begins to climb the Grey Steps. You continue upward, panting, coughing up red and black.
> You cough a chunk of the stuff onto the step infront of you before you find you can’t go any farther up.
> Something is stopping you.
> You tail hurts.
> You turn your head.
> It’s Sparks. He is far ahead of the other fluffies, as if he was able to run all the way up to where you are. He has your tail in his mouth. He bites down harder when you look into his peepers.
> “Owwies! Wet go, dummy Spawks!!!” you howl.
> He doesn’t, he just pulls.
> You brace against the step infront of you. You don’t want to fall!
> If you kick out with your back leggies, you’ll slip and fall. You know this.
> You brace, and brace, and brace, and he pulls and pulls and pulls.
> His horn starts to spark, and you know that kicking him is no longer an option.
> You place your right hoof on the next step above you and try to climb.
> It slips on your sickies and you fall.
> You don’t feel the burning of Sparks’ horn.
> You roll head-over-hoofs downwards, over his back.
> Your right leggie hits the first step, there is a *POP*, and an intense, searing pain.
> You scream and shut your peepers tight.
> The next step hits your left shoulder. You try to grit your teeth, but can’t.
> The one after that hits the top of your head.
> There is a very loud, wet, sick sound. A wet *CRACK* that makes pain shoot through your head, face and back.
> You continue to tumble. Each step causing you terrible owwies to your back, your chest, leggies and head.
> The dummies talk to you, but you can’t hear what they’re saying.
> You hit the final step and roll.
> You are on your back, your head facing left.
> Your peepers are still shut tight. Everything is pain.
> *tink*
> What’s that?
> *tink*
> *tink* *tink* *thump*
> You open your peepers.
> What you see is long, sharp, and has a gold shiny thing on the thickest part of it.
> It takes you a moment to realize what it is.
> Your vision blurs, and warm water begins to leak from your peepers.
> You are crying.
> You are hurt, you are angry, you are sad.
> Why did this have to happen?
> You don’t want to feel like this. You want all the saddies, angries and hurties to go away.
> You want…
> You want…
> You want…


---------

> “…wan Navy.”
> You are Sparks, and you’re climbing down the last step.
> Maroon fell down the grey steps, over your head and back!
> You don’t remember running all the way up the Grey Steps like that. All you remember is not wanting Maroon to get away.
> The other fluffies with you parted as Maroon started falling, and good thing, too: if he would’ve hit any of your friends, they might’ve been hurt.
> Now, as the yelling and screaming dwindles and is replaced by sobbing and crying, the loudest voice is, as always, Maroon’s.
> “Wan Navy. Wan Navy. Wan Navy. Wan Navy. Wan Navy.”
> That’s all he says.
> You don’t know who he’s talking about.
> And you don’t care.
> “Who can make hown spawkies?” you ask the fluffies around you.
> Two other unicorns step forward.
> “Do wat Spawks does…”
> You spark your horn, walk over to Maroon, and place it on his belly fluff.
> “ Wan Navy…”
> The two others add their sparks to yours.
> “Wan Navy…!”
> *WHOOSH*
> All three of you leap back as burnies erupt on his chest and belly.
> “WAN NAVY! WAN NAVY! WAAAAN NAVY! WAAAAAAAAAAAAHUUUUUUUUUUHAAAN…N-NAVY!”
> He keeps screaming like that for a very, very long time.
> Only Cuddles nudging you makes you turn your head.
> You don’t look at Maroon ever again. You walk past him, now a black, not-pretty mess on the floor of The Rink, and continue to near the Owwie Ring.


----------

> You are Scruffy.
> And this is the time.
> The mares, colts, fillies and babies of ‘Best Herd’ are in the corner. They cry and beg for you not to hurt them
> You bite your lip for a moment. This is what was decided. This is what you will do.
> “Fwends…GIV DEM AWW BIGGEST OWWIES!”
> The cornered fluffies cry and wail as your herd members trot towards them.
> They all have to go.
> That’s just the way it has to be.


“Then it all crashes down
And you break your crown
And you point your finger
But there’s no one around.
Just want one thing
Just to play the thing
But the castle’s crumbled
And you’re left with just a name.
Where’s your crown, King Nothing?”
Metallica, ‘King Nothing’, from the “LOAD” album.