Damn, it’s too early. Seth raced to his room, changing his clothes quickly before making his way to the trunk in his hobby-room. Made slightly frantic by worry, he pushed aside his varied fluffy tools and implements, grabbing the bare necessities for a birthing dam. Filling an old duffel bag, Seth hefted it to his car, taking a few moments to respond to Jerome’s message.
Don’t panic
Keep her calm and put her on her bed
Make sure she stays there
On my way now
While he had no way of knowing exactly how far along Bullet truly was, Seth had seen enough pregnant mares to know that she was underweight and that was dangerous for the foals. Whether her diminished stature was due to not being far enough along or malnourishment from life on the streets, it made little difference, as it would make the birthing difficult regardless. And no instructions could prepare Jerome for what the amateur owner might have to do to save the offspring. Cursing under his breath, Seth turned the ignition and sped off towards the hardware store.
*SCREEEEEEE!!! TUMMEH BABBEHS! P’WEASE NU GIB MUMMAH HUWTIES NU MOWE!
Jerome was pacing back and forth by the time Seth arrived, the sound of Bullet’s pained shrieks clearly putting the boy on edge. Seeing his mentor, the boy was visibly relieved, walking back over to his work table as Seth approached the screaming mare.
“Thank Christ you’re here, man…I don’t know what to do! She was complaining about not feeling so good and then she started screaming!”
“It’s fine kid. Just try and keep calm. We don’t need her freaking out any more than she already is…” Seth managed his tone, almost whispering to Jerome before putting on a pair of long rubber gloves and grabbing a small flashlight. It troubled him that she hadn’t already given birth yet, as foaling was a pretty fast process once it started, with Seth assuming he would arrive to the tiny fluffs already being born. He leaned over and examined Bullet, the mare’s face soaked with sweat and tears as she winced and howled in agony. He could already see where her water had broke and her haunches were slick with amniotic fluid and blood. While the amount of blood was a bit worrisome, Seth had seen pregnant fluffies through worse. More importantly, it wasn’t her survival he was concerned about anyway.
“You okay girl?” Seth ran a gloved hand over her mane gently, the mare nuzzling weakly against him as she hissed painfully through clenched teeth. While she was clearly relaxed slightly by his presence, it wasn’t enough to alleviate the pain she was going through. While always painful for a fluffy mother, birthing was always far worse the first time.
“*huuu…huuu…huuu…Buw…Buww’it hab su man…*SCREEEEEEE!!! Hab su mani huwties…Wai tummeh babb…*SCREEEEEEE!!! *huuu…huuu…huuu…Wai tummeh babbehs huwt mummah?!”
“It’s alright Bullet, it’s alright. It always hurts when it’s time for babies…” Still petting the timid mare, Seth clicked the flashlight on and brushed her tail out of the way with his forearm. Her genitals were swollen and slightly discolored, nearly the shade of bruised flesh. Only mere inches within, he could see the issue that was causing her difficulty right away. There was a blockage. One of the foals had shifted awkwardly and was now wedged in place, causing Bullet to be unable to give birth properly. Motioning over to Jerome, Seth had the boy come closer to the table opposite him, his voice still low and calm. “I’m going to need you to hold her. Be very gentle but don’t let her go…” Showing him where to place his hands, Jerome gripped Bullet tightly, the mare instantly getting more and more anxious as he held her in place.
“WAI DADDEH NU WET BUWW’IT MOOV?! WAT AM…*SCREEEEEEE!!! WAT AM HOOMINS DOIN’ TU BUWW’IT?!”
“Goddamn it…Hold still!”
“Ease up kid…Don’t get her upset…” While Bullet continued to wriggle and scream against her young owner, Seth reached his hand inside her, prompting an abrupt shriek from the confused mare.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! NU TOUCHIES BUWW’IT’S SPECIAW PWACE!!!”
Knowing that it was too late to worry about keeping her calm any longer, Seth ignored the mare and gripped the foal in his hands. Cold and rigid to the touch, he lamented already losing one baby but was determined not to let the rest die as well. Dropping his quiet and subdued tone, Seth forewarned the mare to prepare herself for what was about to happen. “Take a deep breath, Bullet…”
“WAT?! WAI BUWW’IT NEE’…*SCREEEEEEE!!!”
Seth pulled the dead foal free from Bullet, the mare screaming loudly as it was removed violently from her. Collapsing on her side, Bullet began to wheeze and gasp, each breath now sharp and forceful. Seth took a moment to look at the foal that he’d pulled free from her, scowling when he saw the cadaver’s silver coat not only matched it’s mother’s pleasing highlights, but it had been a pegasus as well, it’s tiny, nubs barely visible underneath it’s muck covered body. Gasping for air after her ordeal, Bullet tried to turn around and see what was happening.
“Bu…Buww’it nu heaw babbeh…Wai babbeh nu maek peepies?!”
Before she could get an answer, the mare doubled over in pain. With the blockage free, Bullet began to grunt and seize on her bed, the birthing finally continued uninterrupted. As her body writhed in pain with each contraction, her eyes shot wide open, bulging as she shrieked from the agony of passing her first foal on her own.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! BIGGEST POOPIES!!! TUMMEH BABBEHS GIB WOWSTEST HUWTIES!!!”
Seth was careful not to let the newborn foal fall too far, catching it within his gloved palm as it fell free from Bullet. Worried that her entire litter may have suffered the same fate as the wedged foal, he was pleased to feel that this one was warm, the tiny fluff instantly wriggling within his hand as it began to peep and chirp in distress. It had fine blue fluff, almost the shade of a robin’s egg and seemed to be an earthie colt, it’s bulbous, awkward body still slick with blood. It’s oversized head wobbled to and fro as it chirped aloud for it’s mother, the environment outside the womb far too harsh and cold for it’s underdeveloped body. “Roll her on her side, kid…gently…” Heeding Seth’s instructions, Jerome began to force Bullet over, even as she continued to writhe in pain, trying her best to turn and see the cheeping foal.
“*SCREEEEEEE!!! We…wewe am babbeh?! Gi…*SCREEEEEEE!!! Gib Buww’it babbeh…”
“You need to lie down and relax, Bullet. You still have more foals coming…” Placing the cheeping fluff against the mare, it sniffled the air before reaching out with it’s mouth, peeping in desperation until it finally latched and began to nurse. Kneading against it’s mother as it fed, it’s body now warmed by her fluff, the blue foal quickly began to calm, it’s frantic and jerky movements now slowed and serene. “Feed that one and stay still…or I’ll take it away…” Whether the mare intended to comply with Seth’s demands or not was quickly interrupted by another painful contraction, her words turning to pained screams midsentence as the next foal came.
A few minutes passed and Bullet had given birth to six foals in total. Most were nothing special, a pair of colts, one a red unicorn, the other a pink earthie. Two of them matched their mother’s fluff, a female earthie and a pegasus colt. If raised properly, they could make some decent money, especially the winged colt, but the real prize was a black pegasus. Taking a quick glance with his flashlight, Seth could see that it was a filly, placing it against Bullet for it’s turn to feed as it’s siblings squirmed and cheeped next to the mare for warmth.
“Bab…babbehs am s…su pwetty…Mummah wuv pwetty bab…*SCREEEEEEE!!!”
Tensing up again before another contraction, Bullet howled in pain, surprising Seth. With the mare now half her size from before, he’d simply assumed she was finished. “Guess she’s got one more to go…”
“Jesus, that’s seven foals! Are there always this many?”
“Not always. Sometimes it’s just four or five, sometimes more…” Getting behind Bullet again, Seth waited as the mare shrieked and moaned, pushing out one last foal into his gloved hand, it’s body stunted and almost half the size of the others. It was clearly an off color, a sickly looking mustard yellow. Despite Bullet’s pleasing white and silver patterning, it was commonplace for fluffy litters to have at least one undesirable color, like brown or yellow. It was an unfortunate truth for any foal with the poor luck to be born with ill colored fluff that they were fated for the discount bin, sold more often than not for mere pocket change.
Lost in the excitement of the moment, it quickly dawned on Seth that it wasn’t crying out or moving. Pressing in on it’s chest, it wasn’t rigid or cold like the stillborn foal, so there was still a chance to save it. Knowing full well that he was already running low on fluffies as is, he decided to try and revive the runt. Wrapping his hand firmly around it, Seth made his way towards his pack, calling back to the confused teen as he rifled through it’s contents. “It’s not breathing…Go to the sink and run the tap as hot as it’ll go!” He hesitated for only a moment before running to the utility sink as Seth pulled out what he needed to resuscitate the foal, the sparker from an old lighter.
While many lighters used a metal roller to create a spark, Seth always preferred the ones that used a piezoelectric sparker. Not only was it far easier to actually light, but once out of fuel, the sparker could be removed and become a tool for fluffy torture itself. A short plastic and metal rod no bigger than a matchstick, it could be depressed against the skin of a younger fluffy for a painful but harmless shock. But with the foal alive but not breathing Seth had a different use in mind. He placed the tip of the sparker against it’s rear hoof, pressing it’s chest in lightly as he pushed the rod firmly against the marshmallow like flesh. Unresponsive at first, after several jabs with the sparker the foal began to wheeze and rasp weakly, the tiny fluff now moving but still not taking in air. It was a good sign, but clearly the runt was still too lethargic and weak to come to, the pain of the sparker not enough of a shock to it’s system.
Cradling the limp foal in his hands, Seth carried it over to the utility sink, Jerome watching silently as his mentor worked. It was an odd sight for the teen, to see someone who tormented fluffies as often as Seth to try so hard to save one. It was just like when he had caught Jerome torturing Kismet, the foal accidently being doused in caustic bleach in the aftermath. Recalling his mistake still stung, but it was rather strange to see Seth shift so quickly from fluffy killer to fluffy doctor. Perplexed by why he needed the sink filled, Jerome gasped when he saw Seth plunge the unresponsive foal within the sink, holding it under only for a moment before pulling it free of the scalding water, the tiny fluff now shrieking and flailing madly within his palm.
“Damn…vocal little fucker, ain’t it. You think it’ll make it now?”
Seth flexed his fingers around the squealing foal’s torso, squeezing it slightly as he felt it take sharp panicked breaths, it’s chest now rising and falling at a rapid pace. Despite it’s small size, the runt had a great deal of fight in it now that it was conscious, wiggling it’s nubs against Seth’s hand as it tried to get loose. “It’ll be touch and go until it nurses, but…he seems pretty spirited.” Taking a small glance at the peeping runt, Seth confirmed that it was indeed a colt, the lifesaving dunk in the utility sink washing free the blood and muck that was coated in his fluff. Seeing the small nub like vestigial wings on it’s back, Seth assumed the foal to be a pegasus until he noticed the tiny bump on his forehead, a grin slowly growing on his face as he stared down at the peeping mass in his hand.
“What? What is it man?”
“Little bastard is an alicorn…”