Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

“No.” Gwen shook her head as she tried to walk away from the three blueberry horses currently following her. 

Uiscefhuaraithe and Shade’s of Midnight’s daughter, Frozen Tides had been persistent in their demands during the evening feeding. All three of them kept trying to drag Gwen to one of the many shelters that now dotted her pasture. The herd had grown so quickly in recent years that the system of stables and shelters was still rather haphazard. 

Uiscefhuaraithe came up alongside Frozen Tides and snagged the sleeve of Gwen’s tunic. The mother daughter pairing was easy to tell apart. Uiscefhuaraithe white sabino markings and Tides dark civet markings couldn’t be mistaken. It was when Midnight came up as well that Gwen always found she was in trouble. It was really only the fact that Midnight’s tail was lighter and the stallion had a mane that made them stand out in the dark, otherwise they were very clearly related.

“I don’t know what the three of you want, but I’ve got three more shelters to check still and I…” Anything she was about to say was cut off as Tides blocked her path, Midnight blocked her retreat, and Uiscefhuaraithe pawed at the ground and tossed her head in the only direction really available to Gwen at this point. 

Gwen headed towards the shelter all three were insisting she visit. Uiscefhuaraithe and Midnight had the determined trot of two horses on a mission, though they’d pause to let Gwen catch up at regular intervals. They were both clear in their behavior that they would be herding her there again if necessary. Tides followed along behind, dark blueberry tail swishing as she occasionally nudged at Gwen. The younger horse didn’t quite have the self assured behavior of her parents yet, but Gwen had no doubt she’d develop it soon enough.  

The first thing that struck her as wrong was a skittering sound from inside the shelter. Uiscefhuaraithe gave a displeased whinny before heading off Tide’s path so the younger horse couldn’t get any closer to the disturbance. Midnight nudged Gwen, pushing the fae in the direction of the noise. 

“Yes, of course, send me into danger.” Gwen quipped as she picked up a nearby shovel and moved to check the shelter, the other three horses moving behind her at a snail's pace. 

Before she even got to the door, the sound of a hoof striking the floor echoed in the night. It was followed by several more rapid stomps. She opened the door slowly only to see Butterfly in the shelter stomping on what seemed to be oversized bedbugs. 

The bugs skittered across the floor as the Nordanner was waging a fierce battle to squish the insects beneath her dark hooves. Her green markings around her ankles were already splattered with goo and the dragon-like sound that emanated from her suggested the green butterfly marked mare was growing very tired of the situation. 

“Oh!” Gwen exclaimed as one of the large bedbugs tried to slip past her, smashing the thing with a shovel on reflex. 

Butterfly turned to look at her, the Nordanner’s expression clearly reading ‘about time’ before the mare went back to her war with the bugs that were streaming out from the bedding. 

Gwen stomped on another one as Midnight and Uiscefhuaraithe joined Butterfly in the room attempting to squish the bugs as they seemed to some in an endless stream. 

“I ordered the bedding from the same seller I have for years now. Where on earth did these things come from?” Gwen jumped back as one of the bugs seemed to try and fight back, the creature biting at her foot. 

Tides, from outside, gave a whinny that sounded almost exactly like her mother Uiscefhuaraithe’s as the blueberry horse squished a bug that got past the three horses and the fae inside. 

Butterfly hopped backwards into a stall door as another of the bugs tried to bite her, nearly succeeding. The Nordanner narrowly avoided the small, pointy teeth. 

Uiscefhuaraithe and Midnight moved alongside the Nordanner, attempting to drive the bugs back into the bedding with very little success as Gwen tried to keep them from getting outside. Though from the sounds of Tide’s hooves now stomping against the ground and the occasional squishing sound, it didn’t seem as though it was overly productive. 

“Okay, we’re going to need to do something more effective than just randomly squashing these bitey little bugs.” Gwen said as another one bit her foot and Butterfly gave an annoyed squeal as one of them bit her ankle. 

Butterfly backed away from the bedding, moving to try and keep them contained. Uiscefhuaraithe stepped on one just before it could bite the Nordanner only to be rescued by Midnight, the stallion stepping on one just before it bit her. Tides, just outside the door, pulled at 

Uiscefhuaraithe’s tail, trying to get the blueberry mare out of the shelter, 

“Well, go on. We’re going to have to either burn this or flood it, and I’m thinking its burning it.” Gwen nudged at Uiscefhuaraithe and then Midnight and Butterfly. “Out, all of you. Squish any of them that get outside. I’ll get the bedding burning and see if I can’t kill the rest of them.” 

Uiscefhuaraithe went out to join her daughter, the two of them quickly circling the shelter, the occasional sound of the large bugs squishing easily heard. Midnight soon followed, the stallion joining in maintaining the perimeter. 

Butterfly moved outside but didn’t go far from the door, the Nordanner watching Gwen and pacing ever so slightly to catch some of the closer bugs. 

“Butterfly, go help the others.” Gwen called as she started to douse the bedding with oil from her lamp. A few of the bugs managed to bite her ankles, but she couldn’t focus on setting the fire and squishing them at the same time. 

The Nordanner just looked at her and held her ground just outside the door as the other three horses circled around killing escaping bugs.

Finally she backed away closer to Butterfly and lit the bedding on fire, the stream of bugs turning into chaos as the fire flared up. Butterfly immediately grabbed Gwen’s tunic and yanked the fae backwards and out of the building as a burst of fire sparked from the bedding. 

Gwen landed with an abrupt thump on the ground, looking up at Butterfly as the Nordanner once again snagged Gwen’s tunic and pulled the fae further from the fire. 

Uiscefhuaraithe, Tide, and Midnight squished at several of the bugs as they tried to approach Gwen, the creatures now fleeing from the fire inside. 

In the end it really didn’t take long for the remainder of the bed bugs to be burned away, the fire making quick work of them and the bedding and finally the shelter as a whole. 

Gwen stood up slowly, checking over the four horses for injuries and bites, treating the handful that she found as the shelter burned to the ground. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to figure out how to rebuild that before winter.” 

She sighed and offered each of the horses a treat before looking down at her own bitten ankles. “Okay, new rule…. Don’t let the bedbugs bite….”