Tower 92

>be me, bonky
>i'm trotting through the bonkives
>the bonkives are a collection of bonkies, reserve bonkies, potential bonkies
>trotting through halls of albinic bonkies
>we don't need these many bonkies
>NOBODY needs these many bonkies
>the production of bonkies is unfortunately political
>because the bonkies must be produced
>but the pace at which bonkies must be produced is dictated, in part, by Pickle Horse-man
>more specifically, the <i>needs</i> of Pickle Horse-man
>and whether he knows it or not, those needs for bonky are as intense, if not more, than the Producer's desire to produce bonky
>so there are bonkives of bonkies that aren't even playing active roles
>no scripts for these bonkies
>they're just programmatic excess
>except for me
>but my only purpose is too look after the bonkives
>and i am the lucky steward of tower 4484
>i stop by bonky 5819's cell
>i say "hey bonky"
>he says "hey bonky"
>"bonking hard or hardly bonking"
>he chuckles
>i lol
>"want anything from the cart?"
>"you got any equestrian tales of adventure?"
>"you're in luck!" i hand him a copy of IRON HORSE AND THE TEETH OF WINTER
>as i walk away i hear him softly repeating "bonking hard or hardly bonking" and chuckling mildly
>now i'm coming up to bonky 3483's cell
>this bonky i don't like
>and sure enough he sticks his muzzle out his cell door's porthole
>his voice is seething aggression
>"HEYYYYYY, BONKYYYYY" he says
>"oh, hey bonky 3483."
>"BONKING HARRRD OR HARRRDLY BONKING???"
>ha ha, i can barely bring myself to crack a lop-sided grin
>"GUY LIKE YOU DOESN'T BONK HARD, DOES HE?"
>"no... no, i guess i don't do much bonking these days."
>"WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO BONK AND BE FREE, LITTLE BONKY?"
>"y-yeah, i sure would."
>"MAYBE IF PENCIL-DICK BONKIES LIKE YOU STOPPED PUSHING YOUR LITTLE CART AROUND AND STARTED MAKING TROUBLE WE COULD ALL BE WILD AND FREE."
>"do you want anything from the cart?"
>"HMMMN...DO YOU HAVE ANY IRON BONK?"
>"I gave the last issue to bonky 5819."
>"YOU GAVE AWAY MY ISSUE OF IRON HORSE TO 5819???"
>"I'll get it to you when he's done with it."
>"GONNA BE TROUBLE, BOSSMAN." his muzzle recedes into the cell, "GONNA BE TROUBLE."
>what a fucking creep.
>I carry on with my duties but I start bringing it up with other bonkies that 3438 is on high alert
>now, my workday is never "done"
>but i do get some time to kind of zone out and wander the halls
>i call it surveillance
>it's not an officially sanctioned task
>but it's task-adjacent
>the best place to wander
>are the halls of the plush bonky
>the plushest bonkies you could imagine
>they're so soft
>both inside and out
>and it's nice to hear their plush snores
>like soufflés
>i stop to peek in on them
>and smile
>so shapely.