The Alicorn foal suckled softly on his mother’s teat, the warm, thick sweetness of her milk filled his young stomach up with comfort and love. This was where he felt most safe.
Until, like always, he felt a hard swat on the side of his head before he was completely full.
“Munstah hab enuff miwkies, need moov nyo.”
“Huu, can babbeh hab jus wittew mowe miwkies mummah, nu wan hab tummeh-huwties an…”
She hit him again. Gweedy munstah. Mummah nu hab enuff nummies for hew an munstah, if mummah gib aww tu munstah, den mummah gu foweba sweepies, den munstah hab nuffin.”
The foal cried. “Huu, sowwy mummah. Nu mean be meanie, am onwy wittew babbeh.”
She stared down at him and let out a long sigh. “Mummah knyo, bu munstah ask ebewytime, mummah jus hab finkie-pwace-huwties fwom it.”
“Babbeh twy be gud, nu ask gain.”
The Mare sighed again, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep that promise. “Come, mummah an munstah need gu nyo.”
Mummah turned and led the foal out of their crummy home underneath an abandoned and burnt out car, onwards to whatever shelter they could find next. The foal lifted his legs into the upsie pose to let his mother pick him up and put him on her back, but like always she never did, forcing his tiny little legs to endure the harsh terrain around him.
It had been a little over two weeks since he was born, and it had been hardship after hardship ever since. Mummah had been on the move every day since giving birth, while there was plenty of shelter in these desolated ruins of the city, food was scarce, with no humans to litter the streets there was nothing for her to scavenge. She had survived solely on the grass and weeds breaking through the sidewalk, never enough to fill her but enough to keep her going.
“MUMMAH! Pwease nu gu su fast.”
The Mare turned and saw that her foal had fallen behind, his stubby little legs working overtime to try and keep her leisured pace. She rolled her eyes and motioned for him to hurry up.
“Munstah huwwy up, mumah nu wait aww bwite-time.”
“Am sowwy mummah, bu weggies am tuu smaww, nu can gu fast wike yu. Can babbeh pwease gu on mummah bak, jus fow wittew bit.”
“Nu!” She snapped at him. “Babbeh nu wewy on mummah aww da time, need weawn be awone, Mummah keep munstah safe tiww am big munstah, bu den munstah on awone.”
The reminder of their limited time together brought more tears to the foals eyes. His mother had explained to him that she couldn’t stay with him forever, she needed to find a herd and have more babbehs because babbehs are the greatest thing ever but something inside him didn’t sit right with that. Why couldn’t he stay with the herd once they found it, why couldn’t he help his mummah look after his new brothers and sisters?
Most importantly, if babbehs were the best thing ever, why didn’t his mother love him?
Of course he knew the answer to that, it was because he was a monster. As soon as he could talk and understand the world around him, Mummah had told him that he wasn’t right, that because of him being a monster with wings and a horn, his brothers and sisters went forever sleepies.
The foal quietly sobbed to himself as he followed his mother through the concrete jungle, the sight of her purple back slowly getting further and further away
“Huu, babbeh am Munstah.” The foal wept, unknowingly naming himself forever more.
It was a couple days later and things were starting to look up for Munstah and Mummah, in their eternal quest for shelter Mummah had accidentally doubled back on herself and started heading back towards the populated part of the city. Scattered food was becoming more plentiful, however it was at the cost of safe living, with the frequent alleyways patrolled by mean humans with big sticks.
Mummah had found a home for the night between a couple skips, it kept them out of sight but did very little to prevent the rain from coming down in the gap they were staying in.
Munstah cried and pawed at his mother’s Fluff, irritating her as she tried to sleep. “Munstah gu sweepies.”
“Bu mummah, Munstah nu wike sky wawa, gib Munstah wowstesh cowdies. Munstah jus wan sweep on mummah’s bak, jus tu stay wawmsies.”
Mummah scowled, she hadn’t let Munstah sleep near her since he opened his eyes and was no longer reliant on her warmth. Part of her wondered if letting him sleep in the freezing rain would rid her of her monster without the guilt of killing him herself.
But that thought quickly passed, monster or not he was still her son, and still the last remnant she had of his special-friend. Reluctantly she opened her legs and presented her soft stomach to him.
“Babbeh cwimb tu mummah’s bak. Jus fow dis dawk-time.”
Munstah gasped. “FANK YU MUMMAH!”
Without waiting for her to change her mind, he dashed forward and started to climb up her stomach, gripping onto her soft, warm Fluff as he scampered up and onto the comfort of her back. The effect was immediately, no longer feeling the cold hard ground on his soft hoofs, Munstah wanted to cry at how comfortable this was. Instinctively he went for the scruff of his mother’s neck, where the fats of her neck and her back met for the softest, warmest area he could reach.
Mummah noticed what he was doing and shook herself, almost throwing him off.
“AH. MUMMAH NU!”
“Bad munstah babbeh, dat spot am fow bestesh babbehs onwy, nu munstahs.”
“Bu… Munstah am onwy babbeh.”
“Dat nu make yu bestesh, wun babbeh am stiww munstah babbeh.”
Dejected but not wanting to push his luck, Munstah chose a spot further along, the curve of Mummah’s spine made for a less comfortable sleep, but it was preferable to the soaking wet ground.
Sleep should’ve come easily to Munstah, but for some reason he couldn’t find any form of rest, finally being comforted by his mother only highlighted how rare a moment like this was. He wanted to cry, to hold onto Mummah and tell her how sorry he was for being a monster, but he knew it would only make her angry.
Shifting in his sleep, Munstah’s hoof briefly grazed over a small but noticeably rough patch of skin on Mummah’s back. Curious, he looked over and saw a tiny scar on MUmmah’s back, just below her neck, and a tiny bump protruding out of her.
“Wai mummah hab huwtie scaw. Am dis wai mummah nu wet Munstah sweep on baksies? Munstah nu cawe, Munstah wub mummah, nu wan hew hab huwties.”
Wanting to comfort his mother, Munstah did the only thing his innocent little mind could think of, and he gave the small bump a hug.
Mummah’s whole body tensed up as a short but painful shock burst through her, she jumped in the air, shitting herself as she did, and landed roughly in the steaming wet mess she’d made, throwing Munstah from her back in the process.
She turned to him, his eyes nearly steaming with absolute fury. “WAI MUNSTAH GIB MUMMAH HUWTIES! MUMMAH GIB MUNSTAH WAWM SWEEPY PWACE AN MUNSTAH JUS GIB MUMMAH HUWTIES!”
“Huu, nu mean tu mummah, Munstah see huwtie scaw on Mummah’s bak an twy tu gub it huggies tu feew betta an…”
“Wha huwtie scaw? Munstah tewwing wies, jus wan gub Mummah mowe huwties.”
“NU! Mummah pwease, Munstah neba wan gib Mummah huwties, onwy wan gib Mummah huggies an wub. Wai Mummah nu wub Munstah?”
“COZ YU AM MUNSTAH!”
“MUNSTAH NU WAN BE MUNSTAH!”
Blinded by rage, tears and the darkness, Munstah turned sharply and slammed his head against the metal walls of the skip, there was a loud clang and a crack, followed by Munstah screaming in pain.
Mummah kicked Munstah away from the skip and looked him over, blood was dripping down his face from where his horn had cracked open, it was still on his head but looked decidedly rougher.
“Wha Munstah duin?”
“Wan wose hown, wan jus be wingie babbeh, den mummah wub Munstah.”
“Dummeh Munstah, yu jus gib foweba sweepies if du dat. Mummah nu wan babbeh gu foweba sweepies.”
Munstah’s heart lit up at her words. “Weawwy?”
Mummah nodded and turned to face her shit-stained behind at Munstah’s face.
“Mummah need Munstah gib wickie-cweans fow gibben scawdies.”
Munstah wanted to make sicky-wawas at the thought of what his mother was suggesting, but he knew scaring her was his fault so reluctantly he closed his eyes and started licking. Tasting shit for the first, but sadly not last time of his life.
Not far away, a green unicorn woke up to the sounds of distant screaming. He looked around trying to work out what he had heard, but in the darkness of the night he couldn’t see much. After waiting a moment to see if he heard anything again, the unicorn curled up to his white Alicorn mate and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep to the sound of her unconciously singing to their tummeh-babbehs.
