Wod Sehwing, the suited Alicorn presenter, walks into frame, his trademark candy cigarette hanging off his mouth.
“Am dewe aneefing pwettia dan chiwpee babbehs? Aww Fwuffy mummahs an daddehs wan deiw babbehs tug wow big an stwong and hab famiwies of deiw own, bu dewe am sumfing speciaw bout babbehs wen dey am stiww chiwpies, an dey need yu to wook afta dem. It gib Fwuffy biggesh heawt-happies tu knyo dat chiwpee babbeh wiww awways need an wub yu an make Fwuffy wan it wast fow wonga.”
Wod took a drag of his candy stick before continuing. “Bu wha if it neba stop, wha if babbeh neba stop beig wittew chiwpee? Du dat sound wike bestesh fing eba, or wike sumfing yu onwy find in…
Da Twiwight Pwace.”
Proxy was overjoyed, she was finally a mother.
The light blue and white earthie mare curled her body around her newborn foal, keeping them warm in her comfortable bed. Her five foals were resting peacefully, their bellies full of milk and their hearts full of love, they had been born a little over two hours ago and already she couldn’t imagine life without them.
She wished her special-friend could be here to see them too, but he lived with his own daddy next door and once he found out about the special-huggies, he’d taken her special-friend away to get ‘noo-terred’. She didn’t know what that meant but she hadn’t seen her special-friend since then.
Luckily Proxy’s mummah was nicer and told Proxy she could keep the babbehs but on the understanding that she couldn’t have anymore. Proxy reluctantly agreed but now upon seeing her adorable, wonderful, perfect babbehs, the idea of never being able to enjoy this previous time with her foals as tiny and precious as they were now gave her the worst heart hurties.
She looked down and softly nuzzled the fuzzy Fluff-pile her five children had made together, there was her red son, so very much like his father, her green daughter with a light shade of her father’s mane, her white daughter matching her white mane very well, her blue son a few shades darker than her own coat, and her purple son, a perfect mixture of both her and her special-friend. She wouldn’t say it out loud, but she thought him the prettiest out of all of them.
“Mummah wubs aww babbehs, mowed an aneefing, wish babbehs stiww wittew an pewfik foweba.”
She saw her purple son stirring in his sleep so she gentle licked his head and nestled him back with his siblings before resting down and napping beside her children, unaware that through either cruel biology or a twisted omnipotence, her wish had been heard.
“Mummah, mummah wook, babbehs am openin see-pwaces.”
Proxy’s owner, a woman named Melanie, rushed over from preparing lunch to witness the foals opening their eyes, she wanted to make sure the foals imprinted on her as well as Proxy so that they would, in some way, recognise her as the authority figure.
Plus it was beyond cute to watch.
The red colt was the first one to flicker her eyelids open, tossing and turning as his newly formed sight was assaulted by blinding lights and fuzzy shapes. But as the fuzz disappeared and steadied itself he found himself face to smiling face with the more beautiful Fluffy he’d ever seen – also the first Fluffy he’d ever seen but that didn’t matter.
“Hehe, mummah?”
“Dat wight babbeh.” Prozy nodded with tears in her eyes. “Am mummah. An dis am mummah’s mummah.”
“Wub mummahs.”
Melanie felt her heart soar at this adorable little guy. “We love you too, now that you’re up and about, how about we name you. I’m thinking… Red Rover.”
“Wed Wova wub namesies, fank yu mummah.”
“You’re welcome dear.”
The rest of the day followed suit, the white filly was next and named Snowdrop. The blue colt came not long after and was called River. Then it was the green filly who got the name Leaf. Then at last it was the purple colt, but he was taking a much longer time than his siblings.
“Come on babbeh, open see-pwaces, mummah wan see babbehs pwetty see-pwaces an wan babbeh meet mummah an bwuddas an sissies.”
The purple colt tossed and turned, a scared look on his face, Melanie was concerned.
“Is everything alright Proxy? Nothing looks or smells bad?”
Proxy shook her head. “Babbeh smeww wike babbeh, he jus swowa dan uddas, nu need wowwy mummah.”
Proxy kept whispering kind words into her purple’s son’s ears until eventually, nearly an hour after his siblings had opened their eyes, the purple colt lifted his heavy eyelids and gazed into his mother’s face.
“Babbeh!”
“Peep!”
“Oh babbeh am su pwetty an su wittew, mummah wub yu su mush.” Proxy cooed as she nuzzled the colt with her nose.
“Chirp, chirp, peep.” The purple colt happily waved his stubby little legs as he tried to hug his mother’s face.
Proxy was overjoyed, Melanie however was concerned.
“Proxy, are you sure he’s ok? Babies should start talking when they open their eyes, if he’s still chirping…”
Proxy giggled. “Siwwy mummah. Babbeh tawkies wen babbeh wan, nu need wush him. Wet babbeh be chiwpee babbeh fow wittew wonga.”
Melanie was still iffy about the whole thing, but she conceded that there was no immediate cause for concern.
At least not until she did some more research.
“Mummah, can Pwox-ee hab mowe nummies, need make miwkies.”
“Already? I swear I’ve already fed you today.”
“Babbeh am stiww hungwy.”
The use of a singular babbeh instead of multiple had Melanie’s suspicions raised. She went through to the safe-room and saw exactly what she had expected. While Red Rover, Leaf and River all played huggy-tag, and Snowdrop happily stacked blocks into towers, Proxy was propped up against the wall, with her purple son – now named Raspberry which she knew were technically pink but she liked the name – placed in his usual position, between her legs and suckling at her teats.
It had been days since the foals opened their eyes and started talking and while the other foals were all happily playing and laughing with each other, Raspberry still hadn’t spoken a word, more concerning was that he hadn’t left Proxy’s side at all, he spent 90% of his day laying at her teats and suckling, to the point where the abundance of sweet milk and the complete absence of exercise had increased his bulk substantially. Raspberry was now the largest of the five foals and they weren’t exactly skinny things either, not that that mattered to Proxy who adored her little fat babbeh no matter what.
“Whu am bestesh wittew babbeh, yu awe Waspbewwy, yu awe.”
“Chirp, chirp, peep.” The fat foal gleefully cheered for his mother’s happy voice, Melanie doubted he even understood what was being said – which was the only reason she had allowed the ‘bestesh babbeh’ talk to remain – but he enjoyed the upbeat tone.
“Proxy, have the other foals ate today?”
Proxy nodded. “Yeh mummah, aww babbehs hab miwkies.”
“Then why do you need to make more?”
“Hehe, siwwy mummah. Cos Waspbewwy need mowe miwkies.”
Melanie knelt down in front of Proxy. “Proxy, I think Raspberry’s had enough milk, don’t you.”
Proxy shook her head. “Waspbewwy nu wike it wen mummah nu hab miwkies, Pwox-ee wub gibben babbeh miwkies, git sing mummah song an hab biggesh heawt-happies.”
“I understand that, but Proxy ALL you’re doing is feeding Raspberry, it’s clearly not healthy for him, he’s overweight, he can’t talk and he refuses to even move himself to try and play with his brothers and sisters. I’ve been doing some reading and I think there’s something wrong with Raspberry, I think he has Sensitive Baby Syndrome.”
“Wha du dat mean? Am it bad?”
“It could be, it means that Raspberry will never grow up, he’ll get bigger but in his head he’ll always be a foal, never talk, never play, he won’t ever have a family of his own, nor will he even want one because his body want go through puberty. All he’ll want to do is drink milk which will only rot his teeth once he’s older and since Sensitive babies have a much lower pain tolerance; it’ll be agony for him. He’ll never have a normal life and the life he does have here will be scary and painful for him.”
“Bu… bu he hab mummah wub, mummah neba wet babbeh hab scawdies ow huwties.”
“I’m sorry Proxy, but I don’t think you can help him. The best course of action might be to send him to skettiland.”
Proxy looked down at Raspberry, the chubby purple colt stared back at her, his chin dripping with milk as he smiled, unaware of what the conversation had been about, unaware of everything except the love he had for his wonderful mother.
And in that look, Proxy made her choice.
“Nu, dis am bestesh fing. Mummah say Pwox-ee nu can hab mowe babbehs, bu if Waspbewwy neba be big Fwuffy, den he am Pwox-ee’s foweba babbeh. Pwox-ee can be mummah foweba, eben afta udda babbehs gu way tu hab babbehs of deiw own.”
Melanie found herself gobsmacked at Proxy’s logic, it was borderline selfish and Raspberry was going to suffer because of it. But Melanie knew that once a Fluffy had convinced themselves, there was little she could to change Proxy’s mind.”
“Fine, but he’s your responsibility, whatever happens to him if because of your choices.”
Proxy didn’t appear to hear that, she had returned to Raspberry and immediately started feeding him again. Melanie sighed and left the room, not wanting any part in this madness anymore.
“Mummah wub babbeh.” Proxy sung. “Babbeh wub mummah, wittew sensitibe babbeh, wub yu su m…”
Proxy’s song was interrupted by a loud, wet pop followed by a high-pitch crying, in her conversation with Melanie, Proxy had forgotten to get more food, now she had no more milk and Raspberry had nothing left to drink.
“SSCCCRREEEEE, SCRRREEEEEEEEEEEE!” His tiny voice pierced through everyone’s ear, his four siblings looked over with disdain for their brother and his greedy ways. Proxy paid them no mind, focussing all of her attention on her crying son.
“It ok babbeh, mummah hab mowe miwkies soon, nu need tu cwy.”
But Raspberry, unaware of the concept of waiting or indeed anything his mother had said to him, kept on crying, even as Proxy lifted his hefty body off the ground and tried huggies to calm him down.
As Proxy tried and failed to calm her sensitive son, Wod Sehwing entered the frame.
“Stiww fink foweba babbehs am gud finkie-pwace pwan? Dis am onwy da stawt of Pwox-ee’s twoubews, she wan hew babbeh stay wittew foweba, an she gun git wha she wan, whether she wike it or nu. See how dat tuwn out wen yu neks visit…
Da Twiwight Pwace.”
