(There are a couple of easter eggs in the backgrounds of this chapter’s art. If you recognize a few of the characters, good for you!!)
After a while, a different employee left the medical room, carrying the same red foal. He looked over. It’s left front leg was in a cast! What the fuck! The employee then made his way into the “Surrogate Mothers” section. He clenched his fists in his lap and glared at the white tiled floor. After a moment of thinking, he stood up from the bench and strode to one of the front desks. The blond-dyed man sitting at the desk (Brian saw his nametag read “Alejandro”) raised his head from his notes and asked, “Can I help you, sir?”. The small plaque on his desk read “Fluffy Behavioral Manager”.
“Yes, please. I’ve noticed that one of the mothers has just broken her foal’s left front leg.” Brian stated. Alejandro’s eyes bugged, horrified.
“Oh my god, that’s awful! Do you know which one did it?” Alejandro asked, his brows furrowed in worry as he stood from his chair.
“A purple unicorn mare with a red mane and tail. Blue hooves and horn. She said her name was Berry.” Brian tapped his fingers on the counter, hoping that Alejandro would be able to do something about her.
The behavioral manager frowned in disapproval towards the fluffy in question. He grimaced uncomfortably, sucking air in through his teeth. He clasped his hands in front of his face and leaned his chin on them. “…Ah, Berry. Yes, we’ve had issues with her before. She killed an alicorn foal once, and after that her mate left her and refused to ever see her again. I’m not sure why nobody took care of her before now; I’ll be sure to take care of this myself. Would you like to watch her punishment, to be sure she was taken care of alright?” Alejandro explained.
The employee eyed the “Parents and Foals” section, thinking about what to do. She couldn’t ever be allowed to raise babies again, not after this. She’d already been given an unfair extra chance after killing that first foal, thanks to their negligence. Today was her last chance at being a decent mother and she’d wasted it. She’d have to be spayed. He hated the very idea of having to do that, but it had to be done so she couldn’t raise and hurt any more foals of her blood.
“Yes, please. I don’t know what disciplinary tactics you use here, but as long as it’s not
cruel then it’s fine by me.” Brian answered. Alejandro nodded and stood from his swivel chair. He placed a sign on the desk that said, ‘Back in 30 minutes, sorry for the inconvenience!’, grabbed a walkie-talkie and entered the “Parents and Foals” section. As they walked, Alejandro spoke into his walkie-talkie about how he was going to discipline Berry and to get an operation table ready for her.
They arrived at Berry’s enclosure, and Alejandro glared down at her. “Hey. Berry.” He snapped his fingers twice loudly to get her attention. Her head snapped up and she snarled her muzzle in aggression, baring her teeth and pinning her ears back. She’d clearly dealt with the employee before, and she did not like him in the slightest.
“What do yoo want, Awehandwo? You gon’ gif munstah babbeh back so mummah can give it fowevew sweepies?” Berry asked. Her ears twitched forward intently to listen to Alejandro’s answer.
“Absolutely not!" He barked. "No foal deserves a mother like you.” He wagged his finger angrily and her muzzle wrinkled angrily. “Do you remember that talk we had about killing foals, and why it’s bad?” Alejandro squatted down to get to her level, his hazelnut eyes boring into hers. Berry stayed stubbornly silent. “…Well, do you? Answer me, Berry.”
Berry simply glared and stuck out her bottom lip, looking away with a “Hmph! Nu cawe! Dat baby was nu foaw. It was a munstah! It desewved to die. Stoopi hooman shouwd have wet gud mummah Bewwy take cawe of da pwobwem”.
Alejandro’s expression darkened in disappointment and anger as Brian gasped in horror. What a terrible thing to say about your own child! “…Right. Today was the last straw. Come with me, Berry.” Alejandro picked her up by the scruff of her neck and held her out at arm’s length, ignoring her snarling protests and supporting her rear like he was holding a rabbit. He walked out of the “Parents and Foals” section, Brian following right behind him.
Alejandro turned to Brian, raising his voice to speak over Berry’s indignant yelling and swearing. “We’re gonna sit in the middle of all the sections. Part of her punishment is to be embarrassed in front of every fluffy here, and the others need to learn what happens when they hurt foals.” Brian nodded and followed him outside.
It was very pretty outside. There were flower bushes, a few trees, and the entire clearing was surrounded by sparkling clean fluffy pens. In the middle of it all, there was a simple bench and a fountain that was too tall for fluffies to get into. A shed was off to the side. Alejandro grabbed something thin and whippy looking from the shed and sat down, Berry pinned over his lap. Brian tapped the man on the shoulder. “What is that?” Brian asked.
“Ah, it’s called a ‘sorry stick’. It’s meant for smacking fluffies when they severely misbehave. Don’t worry, this brand never breaks the skin or bruises.” Alejandro answered. He turned the flexible metal rod over in his hand, letting Brian get a good look.
Brian nodded, thinking “Why would there be others that break the skin?”. Alejandro cleared his throat, then called loudly, “Attention all fluffies!”
Every single fluffy, big and small, young and old, earthie and alicorn alike ran to the outdoor sections of their cages. Able-bodied fluffies carried ones that couldn’t walk. Even those that hadn’t been there very long knew what the call meant. Someone had done something very bad, and the fluffies wanted to know who it was and what they had done. None of them were surprised to see the meanest resident breeder mare, Berry, being held for all to see.
The fluffies started a chatter amongst each other. “Fwuffy always knu Bewwy wouwd get punished someday!” “Bewwy am da wowstest mummah ebah, she’s had dis comin’!”
A yell rose above the rest of the fluffies. “Hey, bad mummah!” Alejandro turned Berry in the direction of the call. A black unicorn mare with a pink mane and tail glared at Berry. Her pearlescent white hooves clutched a smaller than average red alicorn foal, cuddling it. Her orange eyes burned with a mother’s anger as she stared at Berry. She spoke. “Because yoo gif wittwe babbeh wowstest owwies, yoo nu can be mummah nu mowe! How dat feew, munstah mawe?!” She growled.
Berry snarled in return. “Yoo am wowstest mummah ebah! Why am yoo giving munstah babbeh miwkies an’ wuv?! Yoo am wucky Bewwy am stuck out hewe, ow Bewwy wouwd-” The bratty mare was silenced by a gentle, painless smack upside the head, just barely hard enough to get her attention. Alejandro turned Berry towards him, glaring sternly.
“Stop that! You know what you did was wrong, we’ve talked about this many times. You even went to a class specifically for teaching mares how to be good mothers three times! You’d best be glad the foal was taken away in time, or we’d have kicked you out onto the street!” The man glowered at her, Berry shrinking under his angry gaze. Alejandro wasn’t serious about that last part, but she needed to know he meant business. She had been warned before. She knew what was coming. He laid her down across his lap.
“I hope for your sake that this teaches you a lesson. If you’re lucky, you might be allowed to visit your baby if you learn to be nice. If not, well…” He smacked her on the rump, and Berry yelped. “You’d best get comfortable.” He growled.
Berry growled as she kicked her front legs, trying to escape her punishment. “Dun’ cawe! Nu wan’ see wowstest munstah babbeh, ebah! Wet Bewwy go ow yoo get owwies!” Alejandro landed a hard smack on her bottom and she gasped in surprise and pain.
Alejandro turned to Brian. “I need some help. Keep hold of her front legs and look her in the eyes. Look stern, so she knows we’re serious about this.” Brian nodded and knelt down, gripping Berry’s front legs and staring into her eyes. Berry shrunk under his gaze. Alejandro continued to scold her while holding her head up so every other fluffy could see, every once in a while smacking the indignant fluffy on the rump. “Look at Brian, Berry.” Alejandro said. “Look him in the eyes and say you’re sorry for all the things you’ve done to other fluffies.”
Berry yelped and sniffled, the first of many tears falling from her eyes. “P-Pwease Awehandwo, w-wet Bewwy go! Nebah be a bad mummah a-again!”
Alejandro shook his head, his blows landing faster and harder now. “No, Berry. You can’t be a bad mother again, because you won’t be a mother again. You were given plenty of chances, and I already told you today was the last straw. No more foals for you.”
Berry gasped, and the guilt began to set in. She finally started to realize that this was all her fault. She had done this to herself.
“Now, I’m gonna start using the sorry stick. I won’t stop until you’ve said sorry for all the bad things you’ve done to hurt other fluffies.” Alejandro stated, gripping the metal stick. He swung his right leg to trap Berry’s hind legs between his own. That way, she couldn’t kick or hurt someone.
Berry stared at Brian with teary eyes, now sobbing. “Huu huu, nu gif sowwy stick! Am sowwy fow giving munstah babbeh owwies! Pwease hooman, hewp! Make it stahp!” The first sorry stick blow fell with a Swish. She yowled as she felt a sting spread across her backside. She heard some fluffies dying of laughter, and other fluffies wincing with a sympathetic ‘Ooooh!’.
Alejandro gazed down at Berry sympathetically. “You almost had that right. Say it again, but don’t call the foal a monster. It’s an alicorn, and don’t you dare forget that.” Berry sobbed again and nodded.
“A-Am sowwy fo’ giving a-awicown babbeh wowstest owwies!” The sorry stick fell again, and she let out a short squeal of pain. “Huuuhuuuuu, am sowwy fow giving othew awicown baby fowevew sweepies!” A harder smack fell, and she wailed. “OWWIES! Huuhuuhuuuu! Am sowwy fow bein a-a meanie to speciaw fwien!” Another smack, and she screeched.
Alejandro laid down 3 more heavy smacks, Berry wailing with each one. Then, he threw the sorry stick aside and scooped her up, crading her to his chest as she sobbed. “HUU HUU HUUU! BEWWY SU SOWWYYY!” She wailed. Alejandro stroked her mane and shushed her, his voice losing it’s sternness.
“Shhh…Shhhh, it’s over. You’re forgiven. No more sorry stick.” Alejandro said. Berry continued to cry. She mourned the death of her first alicorn foal, the loss of her mate, the loss of her recent litter, and the loss of her last alicorn. She continued to cry until she fell asleep. Alejandro took her directly to the medical ward to have her spayed. After that, she would receive therapy.
“Thank you for telling me about what she did, Brian.” Alejandro softly said as they walked into the “Surrogate Mothers” section. “I don’t know how many more foals she’d have killed if you hadn’t helped me address the problem.”
They approached the cage where the black unicorn nursed the injured alicorn. The mare looked up and smiled at them. She pulled the foal away from her teat gently and held it up as it chirped. Alejandro inspected it and said “He looks alright to me, besides the broken leg. Let him nurse some more, sweetie.” The mare nodded and placed the foal back, letting him latch on again.
“…Thank yoo fow punishin’ Bewwy, Awehandwo. She desewved it.” The mare said. The employee nodded and smiled, scratching her behind the ears.
“You’re welcome, Night. She needed that. She won’t be having foals anymore.” He said.
“…You know, I think I’d like to adopt that foal, Alejandro.” Brian said, looking over at him and smiling. Alejandro lit up, excited.
“You’d do that for him? That’s very kind of you! You seem like a good guy so far, so sure!” Alejandro exclaimed. “Night is extremely good with foals, especially ones that had been mistreated by abusive parents. She talks their anxiety and self blame right out of them! Your little alicorn is bound to grow up strong.”
The two continued to talk. The conversation moved from fluffies, to animals they liked, to old pets. Brian learned that Alejandro used to have a pet tarantula named Canis. He’d named this spider the Spanish word for Dog. “He was about the size of one!” Alejandro laughed.
Alejandro had a large family he loved very much, but there were a lot of members he wasn’t able to visit often. His siblings, parents and grandparents all lived close to each other because his grandparents had migrated, but his extended family was all across the world. They’d simply decided to live in other places, despite having to live apart from other family members.
A few weeks later, the foal was well again. It had been visited by Brian many times, and he and Alejandro had made good friends. Once a week, he would come in and talk to the foal. He would hold it and cuddle it, getting it used to him. He would also pet Night, and thank her for taking the foal in. Night would always respond “Am just bein’ a gud fwuffy! Aww gud fwuffies hewp babbehs when dey need it.”
The cast had been taken off, and the physical therapy had done wonders for the small red foal. He was now fully weaned, almost a teenage fluffy. He giggled happily in Night’s arms, babbling to her about how well he had slept that night and the nice dreams he’d had. Night just chuckled and lovingly petted his mane.
Brian scooped him up and took a good look at him. He was the runt of the litter. He was pretty small for a weanling, about the size of a 1 week old puppy, but he was healthy. His tinier than normal wings fluttered as he tried to wriggle out of Brian’s hands. Brian held him to his chest with a “No, no! Don’t do that!” but he continued to struggle.
“Wan’ down! Wan’ down! Wan’ Mummah!” The foal chirped. Brian looked down at the fuzzy little foal that squirmed in his hands.
“You can, but this might be the last time you’ll be able to see her for a while. You’re getting adopted today, remember?” Alejandro reminded the adolescent alicorn.
Night smiled sadly and nodded. She always had to give up her foals when they got well. She held out her hooves for one last goodbye. The red foal was placed in her arms and she snuggled it. She sniffled as she taught her baby one last valuable lesson.
“B-Babbeh gonna go home with nice mistah nao. Be good babbeh, ok? Mummah wiww awways wuv yoo su, su much. Sniff M-Mummah nebah fowget yoo.”
The foal snuggled his mother. “Babbeh see yoo again someday? Pwease?” He looked up to Brian, his lower lip wobbling. “Pwease, nice mistah? Babbeh see mummah agains?”
Brian nodded with a gentle smile. “Of course you’ll see her again. You can visit her anytime you’d like.” Night smiled and nuzzled her baby one last time.
“Fankyoo fow wetting Night see babbeh mowe, nice mistah.” Night cooed, kissing her baby on the nose.
Then she held out the foal and Brian picked it up. He placed it in the carrier that was lined with cotton balls and a soft towel. The foal sniffled and waved his hoof goodbye. “W-wuv yoo mummah! Babbeh gon’ miss yoo!” Night stood on her hind legs, leaning on the edge of the pen.
She waved her hoof goodbye too. “Mummah wuv yoo too! Nebah fowget yoo! See yoo agains someday!” She tearily called. Alejandro reached down and petted her mane.
First chapter: Cherry And Brian, Chapter 0: Cherry's Backstory (Star-The-Alicorn)
Previous chapter: Cherry and Brian, Chapter 1: Beginnings (Star-The-Alicorn)
Next chapter: Cherry and Brian, Chapter 3: Danger and New Experiences (Star-The-Alicorn)
Cherry’s pretty darn resilient.