“Okay, Lilac, you see that little shape there?” The vet pointed at a little round blob on the ultrasound screen.
“Dat… am babbeh?” She whispered in awe. It took much convincing to get her to let them shave some of the fluff off her side but the allure of seeing her babies was too much to pass up.
“That’s the little head! And I think I can see a horn!” The vet adjusted the ultrasound wand slightly. “Looks like… four, maybe five foals.”
“How many babbehs?” Lilac asked.
“Two an’ two.” Clover clarified for her, leaning into her side.
“Yep. Hard to tell for sure, but I would plan for five.”
“Two an’ twee.” Clover corrected.
“Two an’ twee babbehs…” Lilac whispered as the vet wiped the ultrasound goo off her. “Mowe dan hoofsies.”
“Yep. A nice big litter for a first time mummah!” He put the wand away and turned to you. “She’s doing great, hormone levels look fine, I’m not worried at all.”
“Good. Do you know about how long until…?” you asked.
“She’s still mobile, so I would say maybe two weeks. It’s usually a little over a week after the mare can’t walk anymore.”
“And… when it happens what do I do?”
“Mostly?” He put his hands on his hips, looking at the bloated pegasus on the table. “Let her get on with it. It’s not really all that hard for them. She’s going to be scared and in pain, so keep her calm and separate from other fluffies. Other than her special friend of course.” He winked at Clover, who gave him a serious nod.
“An’ wha’ Cwobah du?”
The vet smiled and ruffled his mane. “You’re going to have the very important job of catching the babies. They’re going to fall out of her special place and be covered in some gross stuff, you’ll need to help your daddy clean them off.”
“Otay, Cwobah du bestest cweanies.” You stifled a chuckle at his very serious expression.
“An… what Wiwac du?”
“You do whatever feels right. It’s going to feel like you’re making the biggest poopies, and it’s going to hurt a bit. Just keep pushing and the babies will be just fine.” The vet patted her on the side. “You’re going to be a great mummah, don’t worry.”
“Otay.” Lilac nodded, slowly and laboriously getting to her hooves.
“You’re all set then. We have a 24 hour number you can call if you need advice after hours, but I promise everything will go just fine.” He handed you a small packet of paperwork as you picked up Lilac. “It doesn’t cost anything, don’t hesitate to call if you need it.”
You nodded as you exited with your fluffies. Clover trotted at your side, sticking close to you as you made your way across the parking lot to your truck. You set Lilac on the passenger seat and held the door for him to jump in. Plopping into the driver’s seat, you asked Lilac, “Have you thought about any names?”
“Hmm… Wiwac nu knu. Mabbeh nee’ see babbehs.” She ran a hoof down her side, smiling happily.
“Probably a good idea. What about you Clover?”
“Nu, nu yet.” He settled against Lilac’s side, resting his chin on her hip. You could still see the conflict in his eyes as he snuggled into his special friend. He clearly still wasn’t sure about all this, but you had hope that he would come around.
Your phone buzzed, you checked it to see a text from Cash. “Hey fuckwad, I forgot I had some shit today so I’m going to be late tonight. Tell your sister, I don’t want her knees to hurt from waiting under the table for me.”
You blinked at the text, as if that would make it make more sense to you.
“… What?” You replied.
Another text came in an instant. “I AM SO SORRY. That was meant for some of my old army friends I’m playing poker with tonight. I’m still planning on coming by today, I just wanted to let them know I’d be late.”
Before you could respond, another text arrived. “I’m sure if you have a sister she’s a lovely woman and I do not think about her that way.”
“Don’t worry about it, it happens. See you soon, yeah?”
“Yes, we are about to head out. Again, I’m so sorry.”
“Wai phone gu buzzy buzzy?” Lilac asked.
You shook your head, smiling. “Just Cash texting me. Let’s go meet him back at the farm.”
You are Sunshine. You are very sorry. It’s very hard to be a sorry friend, or on “probation” like Mister Sam said. You wished you could have the good nummies like the rest of the herd, but they were for good fluffies. You had been bad. The dry oats and juice Mister Sam brought you when you were done cleaning the nests wasn’t all that bad though. Hard to chew and very cold, but fine. Better than grass.
The herd had spread themselves out across the pasture, separating out into their usual little groups. Breezy and Leah were chasing each other around, a few of the younger stallions were kicking a bright red ball around, and that new mare, Dust Bunny, was going around introducing her foals to the herd.
You could feel Bluebell’s eyes on you as you made your way out into the grass where the others played. Their toys looked so fun, you wished you could join into the kicky ball game. It was so unfair! You deserved to play with the other fluffies! They were just dummies and-
You caught yourself as your cheeks started to inflate. You were not a smarty. Your herd- the herd were not dummies. They were good fluffies that loved each other. You were being mean again.
You sat down in the grass, staring down at your hooves. Being good was hard. It was so tempting to just demand what you wanted, but you knew it was a meanie thing to do. You didn’t want to end up like the old smarty, a demanding meanie who hurt anyone in his way.
You watched Bluebell trot over to a group of fluffies squabbling over a toy. She was always serious, always fair, never demanding. You thought she was just a smarty like her brother before her, but from watching her after your return you could see the difference. Bluebell did lots of the things you do now; she ate last, she didn’t often play with the others, and she never had a good sleepy place. She was something else entirely, something good. Maybe when you were done being the herd’s sorry friend you would ask her about it. You didn’t really mind most of the things you did, the tasks Mister Sam gave you were often hard work but it always felt good to finish them.
Maybe… if she was kinda like a smarty there was a place in the herd for something kinda like a toughie? Someone to help her do her job? You wouldn’t mind doing this so much if you were able to play with the toys and eat the good food.
“Hewwo? Uddah fwuffy?” You heard someone call.
Over by the fence was a yellow mare, one of the younger members of the herd. She had been just a foal when Mister Sam took the herd in, and had lost both her siblings and her mother in the barn fire. You often felt bad for her, she seemed very lonely and unsure what to do with herself.
“Hewwo fwend! Am Dandewion!” she called over the fence, wagging her tail.
You trotted towards her, unsure who she was talking to. There shouldn’t be anyone outside the fence.
Your hooves froze as you saw a light blue form step from the trees outside the fence. His red and white striped mane was patchy and one of his wings hung limply at his side. Despite all his scars, wild eyes, and emaciated form, you knew this fluffy.
Smarty was back.
