Judgment (3/4)

>The guys in the Department call these firecrackers, but they're not actually explosives.
>Fluffies aren't dumb enough to go near fire if they see it, so genuine, fused firecrackers are useless.
>And the loud noise would cause them to scatter, making herd management difficult.
>These 'firecrackers' are actually small cylinders of zinc.
>The general effect is the same, however.
>It takes advantage of fluffy pony physiology.
>Fluffy ponies have notoriously useless teeth.
>Thus, they swallow much of their food whole.
>They were genetically designed to produce stomach acid with a high proportion of hydrochloric acid.
>Because their stomachs have to do most of the digesting for them.
>The zinc will react with the hydrochloric acid and create large amounts of hydrogen gas.
>You sit on the grass and take out a large roll of the zinc tubes.
>You rummage in the bag for something to coat them in so the fluffies will eat them.
>Strawberry jam.  Perfect.
>The second you unscrew the lid, the smell causes the herd to bleat about how hungry they are.
>”Hooman haf foodies!” one yells.
>”Hooman bad!  Hooman kiww fwiends!  No wan' hooman's foodies!” the Alpha shouts back.
>The earth Alpha is not as strong a leader as the unicorn was, however.
>Hunger motivates a pale pink earth fluffy to approach you.
>“No huwt fwuffy pwease, pwease no huwt, jus' wan' foodies to make tummy happy...”
>You dip a zinc tube into the jam and offer it to her.
>”No huwt fwuffy?” she asks again, shuffling closer.
“The unicorns tried to hurt me, but you didn't.  You're good fluffies.”
>The recently abandoned members of the herd hear that and jump around.
>“We good fwuffies!  No huwt good fuwffies!” they say.
“That's right.  Try this, it's good.”
>”No take!  Hooman wan' huwt fwuffies!” the earth Alpha barks.
>”But hung'y...” the pink fluffy mewls.
>She takes the tube.
>It's far too hard for her to chew, but the rich jam masks the metallic taste.
>Instinctively, she swallows it.
>”Yummy!  Foodies yummy!” she bleats happily.
“See?  I'm not going to hurt good fluffies.”
>The earth Alpha's leadership breaks down entirely.
>All the earth fluffies, and even a few pegasus fluffies, line up to accept their 'foodies'.
>You feed each one a jam-coated tube, then send them back to the herd.
>The earth Alpha is the last to approach you.
>”You...you no huwt fwuffies?” he asks.  “Foodies fo' good fwuffies?”
>You nod.  He accepts his zinc readily.
>The pegasus fluffies are overcome with hunger and drop their guard of the dams to rush over to you.
>”Can we haf foodies too?  We gif some to mummas!” they say.
>You feed them each a zinc tube, but say no whenever they offer to take one back to the dams.
“These aren't for mommy fluffies, just for regular fluffies.”
>The dams are still anxious, but seeing you apparently feed their herd has calmed them down a lot.
>The fluffies' short-term memories are getting worse as they feel more relaxed.
>”Wha happen to fwiends?” they ask the corpses of the unicorns.
>They even hug their dead bodies.
>Soon, all the fluffies but two of the pegasus attendants and the twenty-four dams have been fed zinc tubes.
>The reactions are beginning.
>”Fwuffy feew funny!  Fwuffy get big?!  Why big?  I mumma fwuffy now?” a female pegasus shouts as she begins to swell.
>Two other pegasus quickly volunteer to attend her.
>Every fluffy that took a tube is beginning to balloon.
>Some have more experience with it than others.
>”Uh oh, haf bubblies!  Need buwp!”
>They can't.  The hydrogen gas has swollen their stomachs too much.
>The muscles at each end are too busy maintaining the stretched stomach lining to open.
>They begin to panic.  “Need buwp!  Why fuwffy can' buwp?!  Fwuffy haf bubblies!”
>Some of them have no clue what's happening.
>”Fwuffy big!  But fwuffy boy!  Fwuffy no can be mumma!  Why big?!”
>The herd loses the ability to walk, and rolls weakly around on the grass.
>”Hewp!  Fwuffy no fink dis wight!  Fwuffy is boy!  No s'pose be big!”
>Relief, as it were, is on the way.
>You hear a small pop from the first fluffy pegasus.
>”Fwuffy smaww again!  OWWIES!  FWUFFY TUMMY NO FEEW GOOD!”
>Her stomach has exploded.
>Blood, bubbling with hydrogen gas, spews from her mouth.
>”Boo-boo juice!  We huggies!  OWWIES!”
>One by one, their stomachs pop.
>They run around in anguished circles.
>“Why huwt?  Why huwt?  Why make boo-boo juice?  Why tummy huwt fwuffy?!”
>A few of them get the notion to try and shit.
>”Fwuffy mus' need make poopies!”  They squat and strain.
>Blood and feces shoots out.  “NO!  POOPIES MAKE MO' OWWIES!”
>They begin falling down as they bleed to death.
>The ones that are still mobile drag themselves over to give hugs.
>They too bleed out, clinging to their dead friends.
>”Wha happen to fwiends?  Why fwiends no wan' huggies?  Fwiends?  Fwiends?” a survivor bleats, just before her stomach pops.
>The unguarded dams panic.  “Wha happen?!  No wan' big!  No wan' boo-boo juice!  Hewp!  Hewp!”
>The remaining pegasus attendants rush around and try to revive their dying herd mates.
>”Need fwuffy hewp!  We hewp fwuffy!  Gif huggies!  Make betta!”
>They become drenched in so much blood that you can't tell what color they are anymore.
>”Wan' huggies,” the still-swollen Alpha mewls, reverting to his basic programming.  “Gif huggies, pwease?  Fwuffy no feew good...”
>You walk past him just as his stomach pops.
>”OWWIES!  FWUFFY TUMMY MAKE BIG OWWIES!”
>You pick up the final pegasus fluffies and shove zinc tubes into their mouths.
>You hold their muzzles shut until they swallow them.
>Once they do, you set them down.  They shuffle around confusedly.
>The air is full of the cries of dying fluffies.
>”Fwuffy huwt!  Pwease gif huggies to fwuffy...”, “Why fwuffy bwuva no movin'?”, “Hewp, hewp...pwease?  Fwuffy weggies no wowk anymo'...”
>They slowly fall silent.
>The earth Alpha walks around, sobbing in pain.
>Blood streams from both ends of him.
>His instinct fails.
>His programming has completely collapsed.
>”Huggies?  Pway?” he asks a corpse.  “Owwies! Huggies?  Hugwies?  Owwhuggiewwies?” Owww...pway?”
>He finally succumbs to his wounds and falls over.
>You hear two more quiet pops shortly after the Alpha dies.
>”OWWIES!  OWWIES!” the last pegasus fluffies scream.
>You ignore them and walk away.
>You are left with the two dozen screaming, crying dams.
>”Pwease hewp!  Pwease hewp!  Need hewp to woll!  Mummas' weggies no wowk wight now!”
>Zinc tubes won't work on them.
>Their stomach acid is weaker to prevent the babies from being injured during a fluffsplosion birth.
>You consider going back for the wrench to beat them to death, but you can't bring yourself to do it.
>While they bleat for help, you look around.
>You don't need the wrench, anyway.  You've got a better idea.