>The gig is up, so you put back the teddy bear. >No way you can gain their trust with that now. >You look in the box to see what you have to work with. >Zinc 'firecrackers'. >No fucking way, those could cause a disaster. >Cans of spaghetti. >Good for persuading even the most anxious stray, but you don't have nearly enough. >Lastly, there's a Remington Model 700 rifle, chambered in .308 Winchester. >This is great for knocking out a smarty friend and scattering a herd from distance. >The noise will cause the attendants to scatter, though, and you can't cover the acres of land alone. >Even worse, nobody knows how they got in, so you have no idea which part of the fence you need to secure. >You leave the box behind and follow the panicking pegasus. >As you get nearer, you count at least a hundred attendants and fifty pregnant dams. >There are some other fluffies too, that don't seem to be looking after the expectant mothers. >”Wun 'way!  Wun 'way!” the silver scout pegasus shrieks. >Attendants are in action, shoving their muzzles and sides against pregnant bellies to get the dams rolling. >The non-attendant fluffies come between you and the dams. >”Go 'way munsta!  Big hewd come, gif owwies if munsta no go 'way!” >Big herd?  Oh, the dead clump of fluff a few hundred yards behind you. >Out of the corner of your eye, you see escaping, slightly swollen fluffies. >They fart as they walk. >The smell is unbelievable. >Shit, again. >Gotta act fast, no time to call the county for help. >You need something to keep the group together. >Suddenly, it hits you: the dams! >You easily break through the fluffies threatening you and walk toward the dams. >”Nuuuuuu!  Munsta twy huwt mummas!” >The attendants cry out with effort, grunting as they attempt to get the mommies moving. >You look for two of the less-swollen dams and grab them, since they have a smaller chance of fluffsploding. “Stop right there!  If you run from me, I will hurt the mothers!” >The dams in your grip cry, begging you not to hurt their babies. >Attendants and regular fluffies alike freeze in fear. >Even the stragglers stop waddling. >”Pwease munsta!  No huwt mummas!  Fwuffies be stiww!” >Another advantage of working with a city herd: they usually listen to directions. “All the not-mommy fluffies follow me, or I will hurt them.” >The stragglers and the attendants of the dams you're holding readily follow you, but the others refuse to leave their dams. >That's okay, the dams will make them slow. >The silver pegasus continues to scream about you, making the herd nervous. >Gotta kill her soon, before she ruins everything. >You look for something to corral the fluffies. >A few yards ahead, you see a dent in the barren earth. >It's another disposal cell, but it's virtually empty. Perfect. >While you're trying to determine a way to get the remaining attendants to come over here, the silver pegasus continues shrieking. >She's making the stragglers edgy. >They begin scattering again. >Out of frustration, you punt the pegasus into the cell. >”Nuuuuuuu!  Munsta huwt fwuffy!  Hewp!  Hewp!” she cries from within it, limping around. >Utter panic sets in. >Fluffies scatter in all directions. >Attendants abandon their dams and run for their lives. >There is no way you'll catch all these little bastards alone. >You toss the squealing dams under your arms into the cell. >Something suddenly occurs to you. “Help!” >Every single fluffy stops and turns to look at you. “Help!  I need you to help me get these mommies out!” >The word help is ingrained into the fluffy mind almost from birth. >Fluffies pay varying amounts of attention when another fluffy says it, but a human... >”Why munsta say need hewp?  Munsta huwt fwuffy!” “I didn't mean to.  I need your help now to save her!” >”Fwuffy...fwuffy no suwe...” “Please help, fluffies!” >A primal reaction occurs within their brains. >Their core programming finally takes over. >Suddenly, a wave of fluffies rushes toward you. >”Fwuffies hewp hooman!  Fwuffies hewp!” >Asimov would be proud. “Hurry!  I can't reach the mommies!” >They barrel past you, hearing the noise in the disposal cell. >Like fuzzy lemmings, they all waddle into the hole. >”Hewp!  Fwuffy faww down! >”Fwuffy no can get out!  Am stuck! Hewp!” >”Owwies, why step on fwuffy?!” >You look around. >Every single mobile fluffy answered your call. >Only the dams remain. >Even they want to help you, yelling about how they can't move to come to your assistance. >You wipe your brow and sigh. >You have no problems retrieving the immobile dams, two at a time. >While you carry them, you reassure them that you're taking them back to their herd. >Or you're taking them home, if they have collars. >Anything to keep them relaxed. >You toss them into the fluffy mass below, where their attendants push and struggle to get to them. >Once you've secured the dams, you grab your phone and dial a number. “County, can you give me the number for the landfill foreman?” >”Sure, just a second.” >She does, and you talk to him. “I've got the fluffies secured, but I need a bulldozer over here to finish the job.” >”All right, I'll send Wayne out right now.  Where are you?” “By an empty disposal cell...well, it was empty.” >”Oh yeah, the spare.  Okay, he's on his way.” >While you wait, you reflect on just how close you probably came to being injured. >Since fluffy dams have an innate ability to explode, they are by far the most dangerous. >Fluffy bones may be brittle, but they are very hard along their fractures. >They can easily cause a spark if they strike each other. >If one of the dams had fluffsploded with stress, there almost certainly would have been fire. >And this jumpsuit isn't fire-retardant. >Basically, you just spent a half hour moving fluffy hand grenades. >You feel a bit faint, but the bulldozer has arrived. >You can barely hear the fluffies scream above the loud noise. >Wayne receives your instructions and gets to work burying the fluffies. >Enormous piles of dirt fall into the cell as he moves the dozer. >Suddenly, you see smoke. >You look into the cell. >Some of the dams have fluffsploded, their bones sparking off the metal. >The part of their herd that hasn't been buried alive is now burning to death. >You motion for Wayne to keep putting in dirt to smother the flames. >Finally, the fire is out. >You look again into the cell to make sure. >”Hewp...hewp fwuffy...” the silver pegasus begs. >You can only see her upper half, partially blackened and crushed underneath a pile of soil. >You're done here.   >You shake Wayne's hand and go back to get the truck. >After making a final sweep of the area, you head back to the county office. >Two days later, you're in New Generica City, the state capital. >You receive a commendation for your bravery in dealing with the fluffies in Genericsburg. >Smile for the camera. >You get a nice plaque for your wall. >The Genericsburg Post and Courier wants an interview. >Smile for the camera. >You even get a raise.  Local TV calls, wants you to come on. >Smile for the camera. >One more interview. >Smile for the camera. >The whole time, all you think of is how many foals were born directly into their graves. >That's the last time you smile for weeks.