Chapter 31: Smart, Not Smarty
Crusher woke to a strange chill, it took him a moment to realise that he was alone. He jolted up, feeling his heart lurch at the idea of losing Breaker.
“Speciaw-fwiend? Speciaw-fwiend whewe am yu?”
Frantically he looked around the hut, until his eyes adjusted to the low light of the dawn and he spotted Breaker by the open door, gazing out into the forest. Crusher got up and went over to join him.
“Wai am speciaw-fwiend hewe? Nu can sweepies?”
Breaker shook his head. “Neba hab gud sweepies afta gib foweba sweepies tu udda Fwuffies. Nu wan wakies speciaw-fwiend.”
Crusher smiled and licked his mate on the cheek. “Nu gib Cwusha scawies wike dat gain.”
“Bweaka pwomise.”
“Su wai am speciaw-fwiend hewe? Wan see da bwite-baww?”
Breaker’s smile dissolved and his slowly shook his head. He raised a hoof and pointed to one of the trees near to the hut, specifically towards its branches. Crusher squinted his eyes and see what Breaker was pointing at, but after a moment he spotted it.
Amongst the bushels of green was a singular speck of orange. The first sign that the cold-times would be upon them soon.
Crusher turned to his mate, noticing the worries look in his eyes. “Nu hab scawdies speciaw-fwiend, Fwuffies hab gud homesies, can find nummies ee-see an nu need wowwy bout meanies nu mowe.”
“Bweaka knyo, bu hab wowwies bout Twavis, he am Smawty of hewd nyo, bu he neba see cowd-time befowe, nu knyo wha need du.”
“Den Cwusha an Bweaka show him, teech Smawty tu be smawt.”
Breaker chuckled, enjoying the optimism his mate carried, the two stallions nuzzled each other as they watched the sun rise over the stillness of reservoir.
The day was getting close to afternoon by the time Travis woke, after so many days without a decent rest he needed the extra time to recuperate. As he slowly roused from his slumber he heard a small giggle, fluttering his eyes open, he was surprised but happy to see Raisin watching him, a smile on her face.
“Wakies Twavis, it been bwite-time fow wong time nyo.”
Travis let out a contented sigh, enjoying the sight of Raisin’s pretty face. “Sowwy, Twavis nu mean sweep su wong.”
“It ok, Twavis am Smawty nyo, can sweep as wong as he wan.”
Travis rolled onto his feet and shook his head. “Twavis nu am Smawty, Smawties am meanies, nu wan be meanie. Jus caww Twavis, Twavis.”
Raisin thought about it for a second, trying to wrap her head around a Smarty not being called Smarty, but after a moment it made sense to her.
“Ok, Twavis be Smawty bu nu cawwed Smawty, Waisin wike dat.”
Pleased that everything was sorted on that end, Travis shook off the last of his sleep and went to join the rest of his herd. It still felt weird to say that, he didn’t feel like a Smarty, he barely felt like a leader, but as he took in his new home and the six Fluffies that looked to him for guidance, he couldn’t help but feel a little proud.
Briefly he thought of his father, and he hoped Glenn would be proud of him too.
“Gus bwite-time fwiends. Am Fwuffies aww happies?” Travis greeted the herd with a restful enthusiasm, although he noted not all of them shared it.
Breaker stepped forward, a serious look on his face. “Hewd had pwobwem, it nu big nyo bu may be wun soon. Da weaves awe tuwnin owange, it mean cowd-times be hewe soon, hewd need gatha nummies.”
Travis felt the air get colder at the mention of the approaching cold-times, he’d never experienced such a thing himself, but he’d heard his parents tell the story of their winter exodus before finding Big Mummah many times. It sounded awful but unavoidable, Breaker had a good point about preparing for it.
“Hab aneewun seen cowd-times befowe?” Travis asked the group, most shook their heads, although Breaker, Crusher and Shitbrick raised their hoofs.
“Shitbwick owd daddeh make Shitbwick stay ousside in da cowd-times wen Shitbwick was bad Fwuffy. Da cowd sky-wawa neba gu way, nu matta wha Shitbwick du, da cowd stickies tu Fwuff, yu neba feew wike yu eba hab wawmsies gain. Shitbwick nu-nu stick gu bwack, owd daddeh say hab fwost-bite an he take it way. Shitbwick neba wan dat happen gain.”
The other stallions grimaced at Shitbrick’s story, none of them liking the idea of being castrated by the cold. His mind set, Travis turned to Crusher and Breaker.
“Yu twu gu find nummies, bwing bak as much as yu can, need wots fow make it thwoo cowd-times. An take Shitbwick wiv yu, thwee Fwuffies bwing mowe nummies dan twu”
Shitbrick felt his heart skip a beat. “Smawty wan Shitbwick be pawt of hewd? Nu thwow way wike yuckies?”
Travis turned to Shitbrick, looking him dead in the eye to show how serious he was. “Shitbwick du bad fing, bu Twavis undastan yu du it cos of scawdies. Untiww Twavis say uddawise yu am nummie finda, yu gu find nummies fow hewd tiww yu pwove yu am gud Fwuffy. Hewd need aww Fwuffies can hab, nu can thwow way Fwuffies nyo.”
Shitbrick nodded, understanding this wasn’t a forgiveness, he looked around the room, his head hung low in memory of his betrayal. Thankfully Breaker broke the silence before him.
“Dat gud finkie-pwace pwan, can tawkies bout wha du wiv Shitbwick wata, need him fow nummies nyo. Wha am Twavis gun du?”
“Gun wook at nummies hewd hab nyo, see wha can du wiv dat.”
Soot stepped forward. “Nu fink we hab wots, Wam-see am sewf-ish wiv nummies.”
“Eben if hab wittew, dat mowe dan nuffin, Fwuffies need ebewy wittew fing can find.”
Travis turned to Raisin and Lilypad, the green mare looked uneasy, and Travis could guess it was about her tummeh-babbehs. They were made from bad special-huggies, by a stallion that had abandoned the herd and his own foals, but they were still hers and Travis knew that losing more babbehs would only ruin her mental wellbeing and the herds morale.
“Waisin, wook afta Wiwwypad, make suwe tummeh-babbehs am gud.”
Raisin smiled and nodded, gently stroking her friends mane and Lilypad let out a tear of joy.
“Fank yu Smawty.”
“Twavis nu cawwed Smawty, jus Twavis.”
With everyone set in their jobs, Breaker, Crusher and Shitbrick ran off to gather food, Raisin stayed with the pregnant Lilypad and Travis went to investigate Ramsey’s stash, or what little remained of it. As he left, Soot followed him.
“Soot hewp Twavis, wan hewp hewd.”
Travis smiled at Soot’s enthusiasm. “Dat gud, Twavis neba be Smawty befowe, need aww Fwuffies hewp hewd togetha. Eben wittew Fwuffies wike Soot.”
“Soot am awmosh big Fwuffy.” The filly huffed.
“Twavis knyo, bu tiww Wiwwypad hab babbehs, Soot am babbeh of hewd.”
The two of them found Ramsey’s spot, a convenient patch of the hut in full view of the window, kept warm and dry through most of the day. Travis could smell the food, it wasn’t a pleasant smell but it was still food. Searching round the floorboards, Travis found a small nail jutting out of the wood, just high enough to grip onto with his teeth.
Travis took hold of the nail and lifted it up, taking an entire floorboard with it. Placing the board to the side, Travis peeked into the newly formed hole in the floor. The smell got richer as his looked inside, Ramsay’s stash was exactly what Travis had expected, a horde of wasted produce. While not everything was completely wasted, the vast majority was already starting to rot, bright red berries were darkened and shrivelled, fresh green leaves were wilted and damp, the only thing of note was a bar of chocolate but that was half-eaten and soft from the summer heat.
Travis knew they wouldn’t find a lot, but the little they could salvage didn’t make him feel any better.
Soot looked inside as well, gasping at the sight of it all. “Soot neba knyo bout dis pwace.”
“Wam-see du hidies weww, nu wan udda Fwuffis findin gud nummies. Dey am tuu mush fow wun Fwuffy tu num, bu Wam-see keep it aww fow himsewf cos he was biggesh meanie.”
Soot sniffed the air. “Nummies onwy jus gu bad nyo, maybe dat wai Fwuffies nu smeww it befowe.”
Travis nodded in agreement. “If Twavis nu gib Wam-see foweba sweepies, fink hewd wouwd find nummies soon. Nu knyo wha happen den, bu it nu matta if Wam-see am foweba sweepies nyo.”
Soot sat back and flumped onto her backside. “Wam-see am biggesh munstah, fowce mummah tu num own babbehs su Soot can hab miwkies, an aww dat time he hab wots of nummies wight hewe. How many babbehs gu foweba sweepies cos of him and dummeh fattee bwudda Joffwey? Soot hate Wam-see, hate dat him am Fwuffy daddeh.”
Travis placed a comforting hoof on Soot’s shoulder. “Soot nu am hew daddeh, Soot awweady betta dan dummeh Wam-see, Soot wan hewp Fwuffies, nu huwt dem. Soot neba be Wam-see.”
Soot smiled and hugged Travis, she would never be rid of her father’s ghost, but it helped to hear she wasn’t like him.
As the pair hugged, Travis saw Raisin approach the pair, looking a little nervous.
“Am yu ok Waisin?” Travis asked, feeling worried about her or Lilypad’s safety.
“Waisin am gud, jus need tawkies tu Sma… tu Twavis. Awone.”
Soot understood and let go of Travis. “Soot gu hewp Wiwwypad, make suwe babbehs am gud.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them as Soot jogged off, leaving Travis and Raisin alone. The two Fluffies caught eyes and giggled, Raisin eventually broke the silence.
“Twavis du gud fing, wetting Wiwwypad hab babbehs. Waisin knyo dat babbehs be hawd on hewd, wiv cowd-times comin soon. Bu Wiwwypad need babbehs, it gib hew tuu many heawt-huwties tu wose dem gain”
Travis nodded. “Twavis nu knyo wha wight choosies am, bu nu wan hewd hab heawt-huwties fwom Twavis. Wiww twy an wook afta babbehs, hope dey be big babbehs befowe cowd-times come.”
Raisin gulped and took a deep breath, stepping closer to Travis and gently rubbing her body along his. “Waisin fink Wiwwypad babbehs be big babbehs befowe cowd-times, fink dat dewe be enuff time fow… maybe Waisin tu hab babbehs tuu.”
Travis felt a jolt pass through his heart and shoot all to the way to his lumps. “Du… du Waisin wan babbehs?”
Raisin nodded. “Awways wan be mummah, bu Wam-see an Cawwot take tuu many babbehs fwom Waisin, hab biggesh heawt huwties, nu knyo if can wait tiww hot-times tu hab babbehs.”
Travis tried to think about it, part of him knew this was a mistake, that Raisin’s foals would be cutting it too close, that they risked losing out on precious milk during the winter before they could eat solid foods.
He tried to think about that, but he brain was clouded by an unfathomable heat.
“Maybe Twavis hewp yu wib dat.”
Elsewhere in the forest, the battered and bruised Carrot struggled to walk from the pain in his burst testicles, he had been walking all night and all day and it had been agony all the way.
Fed up, he found a patch of dry dirt underneath a tree and lay down, chewing on some grass to fill his pained stomach.
“Dummeh Twavis. Fink he can take Cawwot’s hewd, Cawwot shouwd be Smawty, nu dummeh Twavis. Yeh, Cawwot be betta Smawty, gib Twavis wowstesh huwties, take HIS speciaw-wumps, den make him num dem. Cawwot am bigga, smawta, stwonga dan aww dose dummeh, dey neba knyo…”
There was a sudden crack of a twig behind him, Carrot spun round, trying to see what had made the noise. But with the low light and overgrown ferns, he couldn’t see anything.
“Who dewe? Show sewf, Cawwot nu scawdies of big dummehs.”
The former toughie stood his ground, his cheeks puffed wide and his nostrils flared, ready to prove he really was the toughie he believed himself to be.
And then the ferns pushed apart as two slobbering, red-eyed feral dogs approached Carrot, snarling all the way.
“Oh poopies.”
Carrot didn’t have time to scream, he didn’t even have time to shit himself in fear before the two mutts were on him, their razor sharp canines ripping into his soft, fatty body, bloodily and brutally ripping him in half.
Carrot could just make out his legs and tummeh-sketti being pulled away from him before he died from trauma and bloodloss.
The two dogs feasted on the orange Fluffy but between the two of them it was barely more than a snack. Driven forward by hunger, the two predators sniffed out Carrot’s tracks and followed them onwards, towards the scent of prey and an easy meal.
Guess the itch is overpowering, cant even think what Breaker and Crusher would think.
