Chapter 4
Coco’s world was pain. Her tummy hurt. Her head hurt. Her special place hurt. She didn’t know why it was happening but she didn’t want it. Turk wasn’t helping. He kept running from her side over to the wall of the room and back again. She felt a movement in her tummy and then a pressure on her special place. Screeching again she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Her special friend was running away from her and suddenly tripped. Flying end over end. He came to a stop at Daddy’s feet.
“DADDEH!” Coco shouted “HEWP COCO! HAB WOWST HUWTIES!” The little mare sobbed out in between stabs of agony.
“Mistah Wick!” Turk shouted “Speciaw fwend habbin’ babbehs.”
‘Is that what it was?’ Coco thought. That gave her a warm feeling in her chest, but it was quickly replaced by more pain and more pressure at her rear. “BIGGEST POOPIES!” She shouted as she was hit by another contraction. Closing her eyes to weep, she felt a gentle hand on her back. It was her daddy, stroking and comforting and calming.
“It’s okay girl. I’m here.” he whispered softly to her “Let’s get your babies out so you can meet them.”
Coco nodded. She could do this. She would be strong. For her babies, for her daddy, for her special friend.
Rick laid a towel down in front of Coco then sat down behind her. “Turk go stand by Coco and tell her how much you love her and your babies, keep her happy and occupied. I will call you when a baby comes out and you take it to Coco. One of you cleans it then lay it on the towel. Understand?”
“Tuwk tink so” The fluffy nodded and ran to stand next to his special friends ear. He began whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Talking about love, and babies, and happy things they would do together as a family. Coco visibly relaxed knowing she was with her daddy and her special friend in this trying time.
“EEEEEEEEEEE!” shouted Coco as the first of her litter came into the world.
“Turk!” Rick shouted. The stallion ran to Rick and was greeted by the sight of his first child. A little dark green earthy colt. Turk was dumbstruck at this little life cradled in the big hands of the man who had taken them into their house. A smile crept across his face. This was a baby. His baby. “TURK!” Rick shouted louder, snapping the fluffy from his little reverie. Turk grabbed the baby gently between his teeth, eliciting peeps from the small green form. He quickly moved it to the towel in front of Coco, so she could see their child.
“D-dat am babbeh?” Coco inquired as her watery eyes focused on the small, peeping foal before her.
“Yus, dat am Tuwk an’ Coco babbeh” Turk confirmed, sniffing the foal and giving it a tentative lick.
Coco dropped her head down to and licked the foal. The foal responded by cooing. Enjoying the warmth and contact from his parents.
“EEEEEEEEEEE!” squeaked coco in pain as her body pushed out another child.
“Turk!” Rick called. This time the fluffy came and grabbed the foal straight away. A bright yellow earthy filly.
Taking hold of the baby between his teeth, he deposited it next to the first foal.
“Tu babbeh’s” Coco sobbed out “Mummah am so happies!” her eyes leaking tears of joy. “EEEEEEEEEEE!” came the familiar cry.
Another birth, another shout for Turk. Turk came around and deposited a third baby before the labouring mother. A light grey unicorn colt. The parents were hard at work, cleaning their newest prodigy when Coco squealed again. This time Turk didn’t even wait for Rick’s call. He ran to the rear of his special friend.
“Wewe babbeh?” He asked puzzled.
Rick looked down at him, pulling one empty hand out of his dressing gown pocket. “Nothing yet, little guy, must have just been pain. Go back to Coco and your babies.”
Turk didn’t need to be told twice. He spent the next thirty seconds or so fawning over his new babies. Coco’s breathing increased in speed and she let out another squeak of pain.
“Turk… oh.” went out the call from Rick.
Turk scrambled over to Rick and saw him with his hands cupped. Turk peered into the hands and saw a little orange pegasus filly. It was just lying there. It wasn’t wiggling or making noises like the others did.
“Babbeh? Wy babbeh nu muv?” Turk enquired of the foal, his gaze never wavering. He nudged the still form with his nose. The rapidly cooling body rolled over but didn’t move any further. Upon closer inspection its head was at a near ninety degree angle from its neck. “B-babbeh…” Turk whispered, tears forming in his eyes as he finally looked up at Rick.
“I’m sorry, Turk.” Rick apologised “Looks like this little girl didn’t make it, sorry buddy.”
The tears began flowing freely from Turk’s eyes. Lowering his head, he grasped the filly by the scruff and began to take her over to Coco. Rick quickly grabbed Turk bodily in one hand, stopping his progress.
“Leave her here.” Rick said firmly “Coco doesn’t need to see this right now. We will let her know later. For now you two should focus on the other babies.” Turk nodded silently, letting the corpse drop into Rick’s outstretched hand. The fluff under his eyes saturated with tears. Rick put him down on the ground and Turk stumbled off to his special friend and their babies, looking half drunk as he went.
Coco had reduced massively in size. Regaining the appearance of a regular adult fluffy as opposed to the overinflated look that all heavily pregnant mares share. Her screeches had progressed to cries, and then to squeaks, and finally she was back to her normal state. With the occasional huuu thrown in for good measure. It looked like they were out of the woods. Five babies and only one casualty. As Rick began to rise to his feet, Coco called out.
“Daddeh, babbeh am stuckies.”
Rick hurried around to where the fluffies and their babies were. The corpse clutched in his hand, hidden from sight. As Rick surveyed the little foals, all three were laid on the towel, clean but peeping with hunger. “They look fine to me Coco. I think you need to feed them though.”
Coco looked up at Rick. She looked decidedly uncomfortable “Nu daddeh. Babbeh am stuck in Coco speciaw pwace. Coco can feew id.”
That statement puzzled Rick. Slipping the foal corpse into his empty dressing gown pocket. He moved back around to Coco’s rear. Examining her special place he could see something, small and wriggling. Opening his little bag he pulled out the spoon, and holding the end inserted the handle into Coco’s special place.
“EEEEEE! Daddeh! Dat am cowdie! Nu touch Coco speciaw pwace huu huu.” The mare protested.
Turk came marching over to see what liberties were being taken with his special friend.
Without looking at him Rick began to explain “There’s another baby stuck in Coco. I need to get it out” Applying pressure with the spoon handle he stretched open Coco’s opening slightly and inserted a probing finger.
Turk scrabbled his hooves against the floor but didn’t protest. Deciding instead to trust that Rick knew what he was doing and had Coco’s best interests at heart.
Rick’s finger found what he was after. A little fluffy limb leading to a little fluffy body then onto a little fluffy head. Judging by feel, the foal was small even for a newborn. Ever so gently he gripped the head and pulled out the small form until it was safely cradled in his hand. Dropping the spoon on the floor he called for Turk, forgetting the fluffy was right next to him. Turk put one front hoof on his hand that contained the tiny foal, pulling it down so it was eye level.
“A-am babbeh a-awibe?” Turk enquired nervously.
Rick shrugged, genuinely not knowing. He prodded the foal gently rolling it onto its back on his palm. He could see it was a blue pegasus colt. Rubbing the foals chest gently in a circular motion. Hoping that it was alive and the orange filly hadn’t died in vain. Suddenly the little foal’s body twitched, it spat up some fluids and began peeping.
Turk’s ears pricked up and he smiled at the miniscule form that had finally shown sides of life. “Wittwe babbeh am otay!” he licked it tenderly and then ever so gently, picked it up in his teeth. Rick followed in Turks wake and watched as he laid the fourth foal onto the towel.
Coco had shifted to her side. Her milkie places next to her foals and was in the process of moving the yellow and grey foals towards her for their first feed. She started up a verse of her good mummah song. “Mummah wub babbehs. Babbehs wub mummah. Dwink wots o’ miwkies. Gwow up big an stwong.”
Turk moved the two remaining foals close to him. Hunkering down and hugging the green and blue foals to his warm fluff in an attempt to soothe their distress before their first feeding. It seemed to be working as their peeps quieted down significantly and every now and then they admitted a satisfied coo.
Rick watched the events with a slight smile on his face, absent mindedly, with his hand in his dressing gown pocket. Stroking the fluffy form within. It wasn’t long before the yellow, and grey foals had drank their feel and detached from their mother with a contented peep. Coco was barely conscious, the ordeal having taken it out of her. Turk did the job of removing the fed foals and swapping them with the hungry ones, who latched immediately. Turk curled around his two fed and sleepy foals and began to tell them how much he loved them.
Coco, despite being in an exhausted and sleepy state noticed the efforts her special friend was going through, taking care of their progeny. “Tank oo’ speciaw fwend, Coco wub oo’” she yawned and her eyes fluttered lightly. Her head turned slightly to look at Rick “Tank oo’ daddeh, Coco wub oo’” she smiled sweetly at him, through half lidded eyes that were growing heavier with each passing second.
“That’s okay little girl, anything for my favourite fluffies” Rick responded warmly.
“Tank oo’” Turk added. Not looking at Rick but staring instead at the two little foals snuggled up next to him.
Rick noticed the small blue foal had finished drinking before the green foal. Not surprising given his small stature. He gently plucked it from its mothers fluff and placed it on the little fluffpile of its siblings and father. Looking back at the green foal, who was still feeding. He noticed that Coco had finally succumbed to sleep. Her breathing softly lifting and lowering her remaining feeding foal who was completely unphased by the movement. A few moments later he detached with an audible pop and quickly snuggled up into his mothers fluff and quickly joined her in a slumbering bliss.
Turk popped his little head up “Nice mistah Wick, wa bou fowebah sweepie babbeh?” he asked softly, doing his best not to wake his sleeping family.
Rick approached so Turk would be able to hear “You guys rest for now and we can give her a burial tomorrow. Sound good?”
“Wat am buwiaw?” Turk asked.
“It’s a way of saying goodbye where we let the baby sleep and send her off to skettiland.” He replied, stroking Turks mane.
“Dat soun’ gud.” Turk nodded and yawned. Rick could detect the slight quaver in his voice hiding the new fathers sadness at the loss of one of his children.
“You get some rest now, it’s been a busy night and you all need some rest.” Rick advised and made to leave the room “Goodnight guys” he whispered to the room in general. His hand dropped into his dressing gown and stroked the little fluffy body inside. Making his way out of the saferoom, he headed to his workshop down the hall just past his bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he flicked on the light in the workshop. Illuminating the workbench along one side of the room he opened the cardboard box sat next to his PC. Pulling out a few items he found what he was looking for. A flufftech mummah pillow with built in milkie dispenser. It was a warming pad under a mound of faux fluffy fur. It also had a receptacle for milk attached to four nipples, one on each corner. The warming pad imitated the warmth of a fluffy mother while also warming the milk placed into the receptacle. He turned on the warming pad in preparation.
Rick reached into his dressing gown pocket and pulled out the dead orange foal. He inspected her broken neck. It was good work, he had managed to do it cleanly and without the foal making a noise. Laying the corpse onto the worktop. He reached into his other pocket. First he pulled out the now empty glass vial with the rubber nipple attached. Next he pulled out the sleeping red earthie colt. It had found the milk and manage to drink its fill and fall asleep. Overall the plan was coming along just as he had predicted. He laid the sleeping red foal onto the mummah pillow. The foal stirred but didn’t wake. The warmth helped to comfort the little one and was a suitable replacement for his hand. Heading over to his mini fridge he pulled out a bottle of fluffy milk he got from a nearby fluffy farm and poured the contents into the receptacle. By the time the foal woke up to feed, the milk should be at body temp. Rick grinned and ran his hands over his face then grimaced at the smell and feel of the mixture of birthing fluids and fluffy waste that was on his hands. Grabbing a couple of wet wipes, he cleaned his hands, face and softly cleaned the sleeping foal. The foal cooed at the warmth and the contact before falling back to sleep. Rick tossed the wet wipes and began chuckling. Quickly looking at his phone, he saw it was four in the morning. Work in a few hours, but hey at least he worked from home. Log on in the morning, attend his meeting and then a nap. It had been a very exciting night after all.
Formatted a little better and hopefully less run on sentences. Once again feedback always welcome.