Cuddlhu’s coat made a quiet rustle against the grass as she was dragged across the ground, just like any other would. Her mane had already been tangled and split from the time she spent alone in the cottage, the same as any other pony in the same situation. Her tongue, shrivelled and black, trailed behind them as Margrave dragged the unconscious creature to safety. It was as long as the rest of her body.
Margrave was holding the end of her mane in his mouth. He couldn’t take his eyes off the way her hooves had bulged full of fluid, and lagged behind like weights. The way the unconscious mare’s entire body seemed to stretch and fold as he dragged it made it clear that it was just an outer layer, hiding some inequine creature beneath. The knowledge tempted him to take a look inside, but he knew better than to push his luck. Considering I don’t know what this thing is, whether she’s some sort of mutant or just another creature entirely, I think I’ll hold off on doing anything that would potentially anger her, he reasoned to himself, looking back at his objective. Judging by her “tongue”, and the way she can move her limbs however she wants without any pain, I’d guess that she’s full of tendrils like that one. That would explain why she was suffering before; the heat is causing her to dry up, just like a slug caught in the sun.
Finally, Margrave passed through the rotten posts that once held up Mr. Greenhooves’ porch, and dragged Cuddlhu inside the dilapidated cottage. There, he pulled her towards one of the small patches of water. He nudged her shrivelled tongue into it and cringed slightly at the crusted, jelly-like texture. Sensing water, the tongue gently slithered itself further in.
Margrave was the type of pony who was very well-suited to his role in the Regular Guard. He was a pony who could block out everything else and focus on the task at hand, as the large monocle on either flank signified. As a result of his mentally-imposed tunnel vision, he managed to completely miss the brightly painted walls, the streamers hanging from the ceiling, and the balloons that were tied to the remains of the cottage roof itself.
With the creature safe for the moment, Margrave began to notice the odd colours entering his vision. He looked up to see a messy image of the mare herself scrawled on one of the walls, staring back at him with the red in one of the eyes dripping down like a blood stain. He couldn’t help but swallow his courage at the sight.
“Oh no.”
The sound of another pony catching her breath came from the other room. Then, the soft sound of fabric landing on the hard floor. Finally, a pink face with slightly bloodshot blue eyes appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. A huge, disjointed smile spread over her face when she saw that her newest friend had returned.
“Cuddles!” shouted Pinkie Pie, leaping out past Margrave towards the tentacle-creature. She fished Cuddlhu’s front end out of the pool and squeezed her tightly, making an audible sloshing sound. “You’re back! You’re finally back!” She suddenly released her and looked worried. “You don’t mind me calling you Cuddles, right? I-I don’t wanna offend you or anything.”
“N-nb… ish oufkay,” Cuddlhu weakly replied as she attempted to rearrange her insides back into their usual setup. The pool she had been taken from was now half its original size.
“Great! I’ve been waiting for you here all day!” She pointed her face in the direction of the various decorations she had placed around the room. “I was preparing this place for your Welcome to Ponyville Party, but then I had this horrible realization that if you’ve been here for FIVE YEARS and I didn’t even know about you, then that means you’ve missed out on a minimum of twenty-six parties! Even more depending on your family life, medical and financial situation, and any super-duper-deeds that you’ve done. Ooo, and do you have any kids? Or special someponies I don’t know about yet?”
Cuddlhu drearily shook her head, utterly confused by everything.
“Wheeee! Then I have myself a partner for the dancing competition!” Pinkie cried with joy, hugging her newest best friend even tighter. She spotted the other pony in the room, or rather, the only pony trying to get out of the room as quietly as possible. “Hey there, Margrave! When did you get here?”
NO! The fleeing guard stopped in his tracks and slowly looked round at Pinkie Pie. “Hi… Pinkie Pie,” he replied. “Are you… good today?”
Pinkie nodded. “Yep! Maybe even better than ever in fact, ‘cus now I have the chance to plan dozens of parties all at once! I haven’t done that since that Changeling school trip visited Fillydelphia!”
It’s official, she’s lost it, thought Margrave. If the fact that Pinkie’s mane and tail were drooping across the floor weren’t enough, then the messy drawings and the rather sparse, wonky decorations told Margrave everything he needed to know about the party planner’s current state of mind. I need to get out of here right now, or else I’ll be stuck here all day! A pang of guilt hit him when his eyes drifted back to Cuddlhu. She’ll probably be fine on her own. Chances are she wasn’t really in pain from the start.
At that thought, he looked at the remains of the rafter Cuddlhu had been hanging from earlier that day. Eww… And yet, taking that into consideration, it would probably be better if I kept an eye on her for now. At least until Mayor Mare can find a less time-constrained replacement. Margrave looked back at his charge to see her being guided through to the next room. Cuddlhu was still just barely on her hooves after nearly withering away in the sun.
Still, her eyes were brightening up at the sight of all the colourful decorations filling her home. It was enough to make her let out a croaky giggle.
Pinkie hopped away and picked up a large blue and brown plushie. “Look at this, it’s you!” she exclaimed, pushing the disproportioned thing towards her friend. “I made this thing while I was waiting for you to come back! Do you like it?”
Cuddlhu watched the strange creature coming towards her and her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Wh-... what is it?” she asked, taking a cautious step back.
Pinkie nudged it closer once more. “Like I said, it’s you! Come on, say hello!”
Cuddlhu’s mind was on a completely alien train of thought, one that was in the process of destroying everything she thought she knew about the world of ponies. It showed on her face; the eyes going wide and the pupils shrinking as the scale of this revelation ran itself through her brain. She… copied me? She made a new pony, just like that? I didn’t know they could do that. I thought pony breeding was just the same as any other animal… She swallowed her courage and held out a hoof to the brand new lifeform. “Hel… hello?”
Margrave watched her with interest. She’s completely freaking out, he thought grimly. It would likely be best if I end this here. He made to cut in before Pinkie set off once again, only for the pink pony to surprise him once more as her mane poofed back into its normal, curly state.
Pinkie Pie grinned and picked up the plushie’s arms, having no idea what was going through Cuddlhu’s head. “Greetings, pony!” she mimicked, placing the felt hoof into Cuddlhu’s own and shaking it. “My name’s Cuddle-hoo! What’s yours?”
That was enough. Cuddlhu screamed and vanished under the bed.
“Ah! Wait up, it doesn’t have to be you, I could make it somepony else!” Pinkie exclaimed, sounding panicked. “Err… you have a pretty mane, so how does Avena Silk sound?” The pink pony felt a brown hoof on her shoulder and turned to see Margrave.
“She’s scared, Pinkie. Let me handle this,” he said. Pinkie nodded sadly and pulled the pony-sized plush aside, out of view. Her mane was starting to deflate again. Margrave looked back at where Cuddlhu was hiding. I see now. She’s just a child, of whatever species she is at least. I can’t trust her until I get some answers, but the least I can do is to keep the situation from going out of control. “Cuddles,” he called, “you can come out now. It’s perfectly safe.”
Cuddlhu poked her head out from beneath her hiding place and shook it, before starting to go back in. “No. You ponies just want to cut me up and then use your weird powers to make clones of me!”
“No, we won’t. I mean that. I’m the one who saved you from boiling away in the sunlight, and when I was taking you to the hospital, that was me trying to save you as well. I thought you were badly injured.”
“But I…” Cuddlhu felt the open tear on her head, and the layer of squishy flesh that had been exposed. She found herself at an impasse. Don’t automatically say the truth, she thought. That won’t work here… but I can’t say I was badly injured, because it didn’t hurt me… “I was… not reacting to it. I didn’t care,” she responded weakly.
Margrave let out a sigh. “Look, here’s how it is… I am faced with a dilemma: If I do my duty and report you to the Royal Guard, then they’ll probably kill you. You’re a monster from the Everfree, and we’re allowed to kill your kind on sight.” The face disappeared back under the bed. Margrave took a step forward, determined. “But! If I don’t, then someone is going to find out about you sooner or later, just like I have.” He gave Pinkie Pie a look.
Pinkie grinned. “I have ‘no idea’ what you’re talking about,” she said and zipped her mouth shut.
“And when they do,” he continued, “they’ll see you in just the same way I did. I can see that you’re just a child, inexperienced and frightened by the world, but they will see a monster in a suit, pretending to be a pony.”
Cuddlhu emerged once more, a bit further this time, and shook her head. “No, I am a pony. I’m trying my best to be one.”
Margrave was about to state the obvious, but a look from Pinkie made him decide against it. She stepped forward, bringing the plushie with her. “I’m sorry I scared you, Cuddlhu. This thing isn’t real, she’s just a toy! She’s less of a pony than you are!”
Cuddlhu stared at the thing. Its beady eyes penetrated into her soul. Finally, she emerged fully from beneath the bed and tentatively placed a hoof against the fabric of the plush pony. “You mean… she isn’t alive?”
“Nope!” Pinkie patted the side of its head, causing the pony-sized toy to flop over onto the floor. “She’s just made out of sheep wool and knitted together with thread. I guess she’s just like your suit, without the added… underside.”
Margrave frowned to himself. “That’s true,” he said. “If that thing you’re wearing is nothing more than a suit… then why does it have flesh of its own?”
The zip opened, revealing Cuddlhu’s limbs coiled into those of the suit to make them move. The rest was filled with her body itself; a darker green shade, with an exposed digestive tract cloaked in the same green skin. “Well, when I’m in here, I’m not just wearing it, I’m part of the suit and the suit is a part of me.”
He let out a short-lived laugh. “Yes, that’s… interesting, but that’s not what I meant. I’m asking why it looks as though you skinned a pony and then turned their body into that suit.”
Cuddlhu frowned, as if not understanding what Margrave had just said. “Does that… count as an injury?”
“Yes. It does.” Margrave barely even noticed that he was sliding into pose, ready to tackle the creature to the ground if she gave the wrong answer.
Cuddlhu zipped herself back up. “Then no. I didn’t hurt anyone,” she answered.
Margrave relaxed and let a smile grace his face. “Good. I’ll tell Mayor Mare right away. Pinkie, can I leave it up to you to take care of her?” He turned to face the party pony, only to lurch backwards as he got a face full of fabric.
Pinkie shoved Avena Silk closer, a big smile on her face once again. “I didn’t either!” the toy happily cried, joining in.
“I’ll… take that as a yes.”