Brew of Life
> Deep within a dark forest lies a peaceful meadow
> In the center of this wide grassy field stands a mighty tree
> For nearly a century it has resided here
> It has seen drought, flood, disease, fire, and plenty of animals
> The top predator here however isn't a wolf or dog but a cat
> Halfway up the trunk in a hollow lies a lean black cat
> He's lived in this tree for nearly half of his nine lives
> Squirrels, birds, field mice, and even some raccoons have been his prey
> But, for the last few years another source of food has arrived for this predator
> Fluffy Ponies
> At first they were few in number
> The cat tried to scare them away, but they kept returning
> "How naive these fluffies are" pondered the cat
> "Yet they are so tasty, and easy to catch..."
> The fluffies did not know the cat resided in the very tree they slept beneath
> For a year fluffies struggled
> Sleeping in the open as a large pile was their only means of keeping warm
> Disease spread when "bad poopies" happened and the population was decimated
> Just as the cat thought these things couldn't get any dumber they got smarter
> After nearly a year of trial and error the fluffies had figured out how to burrow
> Watching the "wittow nu fwuffy taiw fwiends" dig their homes gave them insperation
> Slow going and painful the burrowing with padded hooves took a long time
> Several poor designs ending with drowning, cave ins, and becoming trapped in the earth eventually paid off
> By the end of the second winter each fluffy was holed up and warm in their snuggly dens
> The cat watched this whole time
> Occasionally playing with the fluffies who, he found, were totally defenseless
> Foals swatted, large fluffies jumped on and rolled, others kicked and bitten
> The fluffies were terrified each time the "kitteh munstah" showed up
> A few met their end at his paws, but the cat wasn't interested in the smelly creatures with tasty mice around
> But then, something strange happened
> An old fluffy appeared one day
> The cat knew he was older, larger, and stronger than these weak fluffies
> But, he was not afraid of this newcomer
> Easily besting the graying fluffy the cat watched as it retreated back to the woods
> Like the naive fluffies before it the old fluff came back
> "Fool, I'll kill you this time old geezer"
> The young strong cat was about to strike when he noticed something in the fluffies mouth
> A recently deceased mouse was hanging by it's tail
> "Fwuffy haff gift fow kitteh, kitteh be nice an good, an fwuffies giff kitteh food"
> The cat was reluctant but took the easy meal over fighting again
> So began a cycle
> The cat avoided the fluffies,  rather easily too, but was given their dead
> Eventually the fluffies developed a sort of religion for solving problems out of their control
> Which was nearly everything
> The life span of the fluffies exploded (figuratively)
> Now, 1 in 100 fluffies reach the age of 4 and begin to gray
> In the present day there are about 6 gray fluffies lead by the only surviving gray unicorn
> He is red mane and blue fluff streaked with gray
> His faded fluff floats lightly through the air as he walks
> Thinner, less fluffy, and weaker than the more virulent stallions in the herd he is still smarty
> Though no one calls him that
> He's "Gway fwuff" like all the other gray fluffies
> There is however a smarty standing before him
> A young strong unicorn with yellow fluff and a lime green mane
> "Dis smawtyss wand now! Yuu owd fwuffies weave ow get big owies!"
> The old fluff speaks more quietly than his young counterpart
> "Dis pwace big enouff foh aww fwuffies... Smawty wan join hewd..."
> "NUU! Smawty onwy smawty! Nuu join hewd! Yuu join smawties hewd ow giff biggest owies!"
> The strong earth fluffies flanking him puff their cheeks and stomp the ground
> Behind the gray fluff sits his herd
> The younger fluffies cry and beg their oldest daddeh to not get hurt
> The adults know he will be fine
> "Otay... Smawty iss most smawty an we join smawty hewd..."
> The smarty smiles and stands up looking down at the older smaller fluffy
> "Hmm! Das mow wike it! Now giff hewd nummies an mawes! Nee giff speciaw huggies an make bebbehs!"
> The gray fluff bows his head
> "Hewd wiww giff pawty tuu smawty an fwiends, haff yummy nummies, pway, den get speciaw huggies..."
> The fluff eyes a few mares nearby and the stallion looks on at his soon to be mates
> He's practically drooling
> The mares in the tree herd are much more clean and healthy than the raggedy and flea bitten ferals from the forest
> "G..good! Smawty gon get nummies den wan giff speciaw huggies to dat giwl!"
> He points at Rosy, recently married to Buzzy who hugs his mate crying
> The young stallion cannot fight, he's already been defeated when his leader gave over the herd
> "Nuu... Wowsy... Wuv Wowsy... Buzzeh giff speciaw hugs... nuu meanie giff speciaw hugs..."
> The two cry and hug as the gray fluff lead their new leaders to the dirt clearing for a feast
> "Smawty.. fwuffies eat hewe... nuu buggies.. nuu meanie twee fwuffies.. safe fow pawty..."
> The smarty nods and sits closest to the tree
> "Giff nummies! NOAW! Fwuffy hewd haff tummy huwties! Nee wossa nummies!"
> The tree fluffies drag leaf after leaf covered with delicious mush berries towards the occupying herd
> "Dese nummies stwange! What dey?"
> Another gray fluff a totally pure white pegasus speaks
> She's the oldest of all the current gray fluffs
> "De.eese nubb..ies aw ca.awed siwwy numbi.eess..."
> "Why dey siwwy?"
> The smarty is lightly sniffing the piles
> "Deah siwwy be.caubes deh giff goouudd siwwy feeww"
> The old mare eats a few of the berries as the smarty watches
> She becomes woozy and sits on her bottom with a little "oof!"
> "See *hic* smawty? Dese nummbies awe*hic*ee suu siwwy! Dey bestest numbiehs..*hic*.."
> Convinced they are edible the herd's smarty and his toughy friends eat first taking a large bite
> His hungry mares and weak stallions watch on expectantly
> At least they'll get to eat before the rest of their new friends
> Or so they think
> The gray stallion speaks before the smarty and his friends swallow
> "Smawty... dese siwwy nummies wowk best... if you eat dem swowweh..."
> Convinced the stallions chew slowly and enjoy the flavor of each bite
> After eating a pile of berries each the smarty and his stallions are obscenely drunk
> "Deeehss numbbbhiiesss awww siwwwwieeehh! *hic* Heeah heeah!"
> Wobbling on their legs, then falling over slowly running in place drunk as a skunk
> This doesn't last long and soon the fluffies feeling violently ill
> "Oh! Oughh! Aaaougghh! Why tummbeh hwuwties?! Ooooohhhhhhhurk... ULP! Nu-!BLEAGGHHHHH!"
> The stallions begin vomiting their mares and friends terrified try to hug the pain away
> "Nuu! TUMMY HUWTY! HUWWWEEELEAAAGHHH!"
> The friends quickly give up after being coated in vomit and other fluids leaking out of the scared fluffies
> They have never been this sick in their lives
> Fear shit and urine flows freely as their bodies try desperately to expel the toxins
> But, because they consumed the large quantity too slowly toxins entered their blood
> The fluffies are doomed
> Fat tears roll down their faces as they wail for help
> The first fluffy passes on, his eyes now hollow and still full of tears
> The mares are inconsolable and their friends are terrified now pooping themselves with fear
> "NUUU! Why smawty haff huwties? Nuu wan huwties! Hewp! Hewp!"
> Without attracting attention the tree herd withdraws to their burrows
> The adults all know what happens next
> Only the occupying herd sits in the dirt clearing unaware their hosts have retreated to safety
> Still screaming and crying as stallions are dying
> Unable to look up and see in the hollow of the tree
> A pair of glowing yellow eyes watching
> Awoken by the commotion the cat was going to teach the little fluffies what-for
> But, these fluffies are gifts
> All fluffies left in the dirt before his home are gifts
> Fluffies living beneath the tree learn this fast, lest they lose their foals who play anywhere
> These terrified tributes don't stand a chance
> And, have only begun to feel terror
> Barreling down the tree the cat slams into a dam latching onto her neck, digging claws into face and back
> "NUUUUUUU! MUMMAH SCAWED HEWWWWP! HEEEE-urk!"
> The cat leaps off the dead dam and is upon another fluffy before it even knows what has happened
> He's having more fun than ever
> Like a young kitten playing with his brothers and sisters he gleefully assaults the herd
> As they flee the fluffies beneath the tree watch the black kitteh munsta chase down the slower mares and stallions
> Only a few dams are still sitting in the dirt
> Well, only a few dams are still alive sitting in the dirt
> The gray fluff knows he has plenty of time to move the bodies and clean the clearing
> "Yuu mummahs wan join ow hewd... youw hewd gowne... kitteh muntah nuu huwties ouw hewd..."
> Most refuse still begging their smarty laying at their feet to give biggest owies to the bad fluffies
> They are left for the cat
> This grim charade takes place nearly every time a smarty appears
> Toughy friends have hurt fluffies in the past taking wifeys from husbans and mommahs from foals
> Keeping rivals away was always a hard fight
> And this herd doesn't like to fight
> They do however like special hugs, grass, silly berries, flowers, foals, and parties
> Oh how they love parties
> Anyway
> As stallions and attendants drag the corpses to the forest beyond the meadow the cat returns
> He confidently walks by the shivering fluffies to the gray unicorn standing firm and still
> Purring the cat rubs along and around the old fluff who brings him these fun meals
> "Teehee fankoo kitteh, hewd bwing mowe nummies watew, otay?"
> The cat satisfied with the recent carnage and full decides to take a nap
> Scaling the tree in less than two seconds the fluffies watch in awe
> Both grateful for and afraid of this powerful predator
> A dark to the light and easy life they live in this peaceful meadow
> But, without whom they would be dead
> Either at the hands of other cats, or violent smarties
> The spring sun wanes in the sky as every fluffy returns to their burrows
> Sobbing dams still in the dirt clearing begging for mates and smarty to come back
> The cat won't have to hunt squirrels for a long time