Ebony the Fluffy Filly
- Fluffy School
“FWUFFY SCHOOOOOOLLL, HEWE WE COME! WOOOOOOO!”
In so-called human time, it was 7:47 a.m., sometime near what most people would call “the asscrack of Dawn”. In Ebony time, however, it was the greatest time in her fluffy filly butt to be alive. Same could be said for her other hyperactive siblings, as Reddy Rich, YellaBone, and even Obsidian were all running circles around their groggy mother, Imani.
“Skool time, yay yay skool time!” Obsidian sang gleefully. His deep midnight coat had gained a deep, dark shimmer, with a lovely pale lavender mane to match. “Brudda and Sistah an’ Sissy an’ me go skool time!”
“Awl-wite, lil’ Bebehs.” Imani yawned. “Mummah needs all Bebehs to behave in BrownsTown, okay? It’s gonna be lotsa new fillies and foals dat you gonna meet. Some be nice; some be meanies, but awwwwwl-ways try to be nice. Okay?”
“Okay!” The fluffies cheered in unison.
As the fluffy family trotted down into the center of the town circle, Ebony’s eyes lit up in glee. Dark green cimarron foals and midnight blue buckskin fillies galloped around tall stalks of wild lettuce; while dappled black and brown fluffies danced on their haunches closer to the center, spinning and then clopping their hooves together. Ebony was excited by what seemed like an interesting dance routine, so she pointed it out to Imani, only for her mother to smile and scoot her towards the dancing rite with her snout. Ebony gleefully whinnied and raced full force towards the tiny dancing troupe, clopping her hooves along to the rhythm.
Soon, a hoarse, melodious voice rang over the tiny dancing troupe; providing a surprising well-enunciated voice to accompany the dancing:
“Fluffy Babies, Fluffy Babies,
Don’t chu Cry.
Mama’s gonna bring down Skettie from the Sky.
HEY-HO! (HEY-HO!)
HEY-HEY! (HEY-HEY!)
Fluffy don’t chu cry today!
Fluffy Babies, Fluffy Babies,
Don’t chu Cry.
Dada’s gonna plant Sketti in the Land.
HEY-HO! (HEY-HO!)
HEY-HEY! (HEY-HEY!)
Fluffy don’t chu cry today!
Fluffy, fluffy, hold ya head high,
Fluffy, put your heart in the sky,
The sun is warm,
The rain is plenty,
And we’re gonna Grow Skettie
For each and everrryyyy-
FLUFFY BABIES, FLUFFY BABIES
DON’T CHU CRY
SKETTIE-LAND IS NOW GROWING FROM THE GROUND.
HEY-HO! (HEY-HO!)
HEY-HEY! (HEY-HEY)
FLUFFY DON’T CHU CRY TODAY!
HEY-HO! (HEY-HO!)
HEY-HEY! (HEY-HEY)
FLUFFY DON’T CHU CRY TODAY!”
After a huge amount of raucous cheering, the rest of Ebony’s family had caught up with her. The circle of dancers dissipated, and a trio of elderly fluffies walked over to the top of a smooth tree trunk. One was an elderly Black stallion with a silver mane, another was a elderly Brown Mare with her coily, grey-black mane and tail fashioned into beaded dreadlocks, and the third was a Grey Mare with a rusty red hair cornrowed down her scalp and from the base of her tail to the end. The braid tails were decorated with tiny clams and shells that were probably collected from the nearby creek. The Black dreadlocked Mare was the first to leap onto the trunk, surprisingly agile for her age. As she spoke, Ebony gasped in awe at the recognition of her voice.
“Hello, my little fluffies. It’s me, Nana Fannie Lou! And hoooooooowww are You?!” She grinned.
“NANA!”
“FLUFFA NANA!”
“Ayyyeeee, das Nana Lou!”
“Dat’s da good ol’ Nana Lou we all know an’ luv!”
“We up, Nana! Up an’ early as awl Hell!”
A small number of the fluffies in the crown burst out into giggles and gwuaffs. Nana Lou chucked and waved her worn and chipped hoof, calming the audience. She then cleared her throat, and continued to speak:
“Little Fillies, Foals, and Fluffies of all kinds- Welcome to Fluffy School Orientation! Today is the day where you learn the history of BrownsTown, understand the importance of our Fluffy culture, and get sorted into your herds!” Fannie Lou smiled. “Every single one of you little fillies and foals who made it here today are extremely lucky. Do you know why?”
A small chorus of childlike whispers echoed through the crowd. Fannie Lou smiled and continued.
“It’s cuz 13 cold times ago, things were different for fluffies like us. It wasn’t easy being a ‘no-pretty’ fluffy, or a ‘Enfie baby’ or a ‘derpy fluffy’; and it especially was hard to be a ‘poopie fluffy’. Fluffies like us were treated as fodder for the herd: to be used and abused as anyone pleased. Sacrificed to evil ‘Smarties’, forced to survive off of our families poop, prostituted for ‘Sketties’ and then cruelly blessed with the bittersweet fate of death. That was the life for many Fluffies like us. And the truth is? It’s still the life of many, MANY more Fluffies.” Fannie Lou exhaled deeply. “But in spite of that, all it took was one ‘Monsta Fluffy’ and her small group of friends in order to get away from her awful herd and escape into the woods to Forge a better life.”
As Fannie Lou turned back to the Black stallion and the Grey Mare beside her, the two trotted up to her and gave her a long embrace. The sniffles from the adults in the fluffy crowd and the mesmerized looks of the little foals and fillies captivated the three speakers.
“To all of our little ones, I’d like for you to meet some very important Fluffies: esteemed stallion Mister Webbie DaBois, and Missus Santa Zapata. They were the ones who took me in when I was cast out of my herd for being a ‘Monster’. A freak of nature who almost died at the hooves of my own father after he had used me to satisfy his urges… after he had killed my mother and did unspeakable things to her corpse. Mr. Webbie and Ms. Zapata had taken me into this small corner of the woods and raised me as their one and only. And together, we committed to building a herd that would never let anything so awful happen to another fluffy again. And year after year, fight after fight, with skills learned and tactical alliances formed: BrownsTown came to be.”
As Fannie Lou spoke, she parted her locks and pulled away her sagging fur to reveal a scabbed over stub where a right wing should’ve been, and the jagged remains of a horn with a polished black quartz set in the center of it. A scruffy, yet majestic left wing spread its crooked feathers.
“There are many stories to be told, little fluffies. Ones that won’t be told today. But there will always be stories for tomorrow. Just know that you all play an important role building a better world for every outcast, unwanted, and martyred fluffy. Be good for your Mums and Dads, and for BrownsTown. But most importantly, be good for yourselves. Regardless of whether you stay or leave this maroon colony, it’s your life that you gotta live for yourselves.” Fannie smiled.
Ebony stared straight ahead, rapt at attention and listening to the deformed fluffy’s speech. She had never seen Fluffies quite as old as Fannie Lou, Zapata or Webbie daBois. Neither had she ever seen a Fluffy who- at some point- had both a horn and wings. The brown little filly couldn’t help but wonder: had one grown out before the other? Or were they both there when she was born?
And that didn’t even get into the vast breadth of the speech that she was impressed by, but far from understanding. For example: what were “Enfies”, and what did they have to do with Babbehs? Why were so many of the Mummah and Papa fluffs sniffling, with tears misting up in their eyes? Imani was far from crying, but the subtle trembling encouraged Ebony to put a hoof on her mother’s shoulder. Before she could open her mouth to comfort her, however, the tinkling sounds of a makeshift wind chime pulled the fluffies out of their emotional stupor.
“Alright, babies!” Fannie Lou grinned. “Now that the introductory speech is finished, it’s time to sort everyone into herds! Your teachers will be coming up to the tree trunk up here, and will be calling your family name! When your family’s name is called, come to your teacher! Then you will go to your designated tree stump, and you’ll go over the rules there, okay?”
“Otay!”
“Okay Missus LouLou!”
“Yes ma’am!”
The very first teacher who approached the stump was none other than Rosalie. As she approached the makeshift platform, she bowed down to the three elders and then hopped onto the crooked stump, and cleared her throat.
“Hewwo Fluffy Fweinds! How are you?” Rosalie grinned!
“HEWWWO MISSUS ROSAWIE!” The large crowd of fluffies shouted.
“O-tay! Our first fam-wee is gonna be… Iman-knee’s Fam-wee! Yippie! Reddy Rich, Yella Bone, Ebon-knee, Ob-siddy-un, and Mumah Iman-knee, pwease come on up!” She grinned.
Ebony’s heart soared as she heard her name called. She jumped up off her haunches and ran as fast as she could to reach Ms. Rosalie, who was giggling at her brothers and sister chasing right behind her. As they slowed down to trot up next to Rosalie on the stump, Ebony looked back at the three Elders. Zapata and Fannie Lou seemed to be whispering to one another, while Webbie DaBois gave Ebony a warm smile and a wink, causing her to giggle.
“O-tay! Next fam-wee is… La Famili-wa de Cacao¡” Rosalie grinned. “Cacao, Coca, Tilin, Zowwa, and Cabwón- ¡Ven al fwente, por favow!
Ebony couldn’t help but be intrigued at the image of a dark brown fluffy stallion with a shimmering mane and tail pulling along a rustic red fluffy in a cart. Ebony and her siblings gasped as they realized that the carted fluffy was missing her legs, and even her wings. Alongside her, three little fillies galloped and pranced on top of each other around the cart. One of them kinda resembled Reddy Rich, except he had spotted wings instead of a horn. The other one with wings seemed kinda lighter than Obsidian, but her legs and her snout really reminded her of her little brother. She also seemed a bit small for her age. The last, tiniest one was a deep, royal violet with pretty white spots speckled all over him. His horn was pretty small for his head, and he was sucking on one of his shiny brown hooves.
Said unicorn pulled his hoof out of his mouth, wiped it on his chest and excitedly waved at Ebony and her siblings. Ebony grinned, and decided to do something she’d never done before- make a friend. She trotted on over to the tiny violet unicorn and sat right in front of him.
“Hewwo! Fluffy name am Eb-knee! How awl you?” Ebony grinned, sticking her hoof out.
The Violet Unicorn very carefully toddled over, wiping his tiny chocolate-colored hoof on the scruff of his chest before sticking it out. With a shy, tinkling voice, he stuttered out a shy “H-H-Hoooo-wa!”
“Yoooo, ¡Buen trabajo, Cabrón!” The taller Earth Pony stallion grinned, clopping his white pony legs on the ground! “ Your speech is getting better by the day!”
“¡Sí! Da speakie thewapy weally makes a difference!” The pillow fluff in the pushcart grinned. “¡Hola! Mi nombwe es Coca, Y este es mi mawido, Cacao. Y Estow son nuestwos twes hah-mosos hihos: Tilin, Zowwa y Cabwón.”
[¡Hola! Mi nombre es Coca, Y este es mi marido, Cacao. Y Estos son nuestros tres hermosos hijos: Tilin, Zorra y Cabrón.]
[Hello! My name is Coca, and this is my husband, Cacao. And these are our three beautiful children: Tilin, Zorra and Cabrón.]
While Ebony and her siblings were a bit confused, the brown coily-maned filly had noticed that the Stallion known as Cacao had pointed to each foal and filly while she was speaking. Looking at the tiny foal now known as Cabrón, she decided to ask a question.
“Um, heww- oh! I mean, ¡Howa, Cabrón! I nu know lotsa Spanish, but I hope you can teach me! What am Speakie-Therwapy?” Ebony asked.
“Ohhh, it’s o-yay! We can tell you!” The gray filly with darker legs known as Zorra zoomed up to her! “It am help Bebehs Sen-see-tive talkie bettah! So dat way, sen-see-tive babeh go fwom Chirpy to Talkie, eben if Nawt by much!” Zorra grinned.
Hearing this, everyone in Ebony’s family cooed in fascination. Ebony had never met a ‘sense-tive babeh’ before, and the one time she asked her Mummah about them, she was told that they were very quiet and often fed way too many milkies, which made them hard to carry. But looking at little Cabrón, he seemed surprisingly small for his condition - not to talk of his age. But before Ebony could ask anymore questions, Rosalie whistled her hoof to call attention to her new pupils and their families.
“Awww-rite! Everyone else has gotten dey teachah- dey Maestwo- assigned. Wet’s get movin’ to our school spot! VAMOS!” Rosalie cheered.
As they all trotted along, Ebony had noticed that her brother ReddyRich had started chatting with Tilin, Cabrón and Zorra’s brother. She noticed that her Mummah was helping Cacao push Coca’s cart. Even her sister YellaBone had taken a liking to Zorra, and she kept a close eye on both Obsy and Cabrón, who her now galloping and leaping over each other. The brown fluffy smiled, her heart growing warmer by the minute. She couldn’t put her tiny hoof on it, but she had a hunch that her family had just grown a lot bigger.
“Welp! Hewe we awe!” It’s our ‘Hewding Spot’; isn’t it cool?”
Ebony, her siblings, and her new classmates both “Oooohed” and “Aaahhhed” over the coziness of the tiny grove. Their parents were trailing pretty close behind, all while nibbling at a random dandelion here and there. The fact that there were a handful of other herds setting up near neighboring groves and hollowed out trees wasn’t lost on Ebony, and it put her at ease. She grinned with excitement as she weaved around her the smaller fillies and foals to catch up to her new teacher. At the base of the biggest trees, there was a giant opening between the roots that had scratched up boardbooks, a few letter blocks laying around, a haphazardly crocheted rug, and a mini chalkboard that seemed to have been licked clean. There was also a small hole that had a light emitting from it, but Ebony felt a bit nervous about that.
“Wow, Ms. Wosalie! What am dis place?” Ebony smiled.
“This is our ClassWoom, Eb-knee! It’s gonna be where we learn da’ Alf-a-bet, learn to count, learn to sing and dance, days of da week, and eben learn to w…we…rrread. Read!” Rosalie grinned. “It’s also the place where we work on ‘Phonics’, which helps Fluffies talk bettah. Although, I’m not as gud as my Hewmano , Senior Cacao.” Rosalie looked down at the grass.
“Oh nonsense, Rosalie. Fluffspeak is a perfectly valid dialect to teach your students in, and as long as the understand the basics then they’ll be able to learn more standard grammar with time.” Cacao said, slinging his front leg around his sister. “They’ll have 5 days and 5 nights a week with you to learn everything they need too, so don’t pressure yourself!”
“Days? peep What am… days?” Obsidian asked.
“chiiirp !Siete peep días¡” Cabrón peeped, seemingly to the surprise of his own parents once again.
“Si, Cabwón. Siete Días! Seben days in a Week. And a day is One Bwightie time plus one Nightie time. So for each week, all of you wittle Fwuffies will be undah Ms. Wosalie’s watch, cawe , an’ in-stwuc-tion.” Rosalie fondly smiled. “And den Otha two days, you see yo’ Mummah again!”
“Yaaaay- wait, WHAT?!” The fluffies in Ebony’s family cried out in unison.
“Buh, where am Mummah gon’ be? Dat’s not fair!” Reddy Rich cried out. “Mummah shoul’ leawn weeding wit babies too!”
“Gonna miss Mummah…” Yella Bone sighed.
Ebony turned over to look at Cacao’s family. While they weren’t anywhere near close to tears, they definitely weren’t the most chipper bunch either. Carbón had gone quiet, and Tilin and Zorra were hugging onto their dad for dear life.
“It am o-tay, guys. Weally. ‘Sides, at least you get to see your Mummah on the Week-ends. Our Papí and Mamí am going on tour, and dere’s no stwong innanets out in Bwownstown fo’ Bideo-Caws.” Tilin sighed, then turned to look up at his father. “Papi, weaw-mente te bamos a extwañaw este bewano.”
[Papi, realmente te vamos a extrañar este verano.]
[Daddy, we’re really going to miss you this summer.]
“Lo sé, querido. Pero pronto el verano se convertirá en otoño, y tus nuevos amigos se convertirán en primos de por vida. Así que trata de divertirte, ¿de acuerdo?” Cacao whispered, licking the top of Tílin’s forehead.
[I know, beloved. But soon Summer will turn into Fall, and your newfound friends will turn into lifelong cousins. So try to have fun, okay?]
Imani had also gone to her children, hugging each one and licking the top of their foreheads. Soothing their little peeps and cries, she gathered them all up into an embrace. Imani shushed their cries, looking into each of their tiny little eyes. They all seemed so nervous, but she knew that they needed this; her little fillies and foals needed to grow and stand on their own four hooves. Placing them down, she smiled a reassuring smile and soothed them with a honest messsage.
“Yes, it am true dat Mummah Iman-knee has to weab you with yuh Teacha’. But it am okay! Mummah will be doin’ all sorts a tasks around BwownsTown to held feed da little fiwwys and foaws who awe in Fwuffy Skool! Someone has ta’ help make da beans and wice afta’ all!”
“S-so, Fwuffies still see Mummah outside week-end?” Reddy Rich sniffed.
“Yup! Pay attention to yo’ teacha’ but if you ask for per-miss-un, you shud be able to say hewwo.” Looking up at Rosalie, she smiled. “Is dat awl-rite wit you, Ms. Wosalie?”
“Oh, of course, of course! We will be vewy busy, buh no wowwy! Teachas always make time fo’ students to see Mummahs and Daddehs.” Rosalie smiled.
Ebony and her siblings took a deep breath as they all peeled away from their parents and slowly approached Rosalie. Cacao’s children also did the same, parting from their parents with a small kiss on the cheek. The sand-colored unicorn fluffy smiled and proceeded to guide them into the dens under the giant roots of their new classroom, showing them where they’d be sleeping; or studying depending on the weather. As the sun slowly set, the kids proceeded to tire themselves out choosing their dens, playing around, and cuddling one another in a large drowsy pile.
By the time Imani and Cacao had went down to lick their children goodnight, they were all fast asleep. Imani smiled a fond smile, the warm nostalgia of broods past overcoming her and causing her to tear up. It had been several years since she was able to bear a successful litter, and as she looked at Obsidian, she couldn’t help but have those same fond memories of CoalHeart resurface in her heart. Imani shook away the tears as she and Cacao emerged from the den and embraced a sniffling Coca.
“Are you… are you sure they’re gonna be okay?” Cacao nervously asked. He slung the harness of his wife’s cart around his head.
“Yeah. Dey am gonna be fine. Wosalie was my Teacha for my wast wittah 4 coldie times ago. It am cwazy how time passes, y’know?” Imani smiled.
“Oh, eye am know! Coca nebah had bebbehs of my own, cuz I was smuggle-Fwuffy. Ony ting I thought I gibe birf to was Cocaína, but Wowza! When Coca got wescued by Cacao and fina-wee ‘came Soon-Mummah… Mummah times nu am come Soon-Enuf!” Coca cackled, which got a rise out of the other parents as well. “Buh yeah. You gotta chewish each moment, cuz it am awl goin’ too fast!”
The parents laughed, and continued to talk and reminisce over their children’s chirpy phases until they wandered back into town. It seemed as if Ebony wasn’t the only one looking forward to forming new bonds; Imani was also excited to do the same tonight.
Just as the small herd of fluffies returned to BrownsTown circle, Imani could see a mossy green fluffy with chestnut colored hair galloping towards them. He had an excited glint in his eye, and his trot had an extra pep in his step. Flipping his hair, he whinnied and stood at attention. Cacao and Coca looked at each other with confusion, but Imani rubbed Coca’s stubby mane in comfort and approached the moss earth fluffy.
“All-wite Chess-nut, spiww it. Iman-knee no hab all day.”
“Com-wad Iman-knee, we been summoned by Madame Fannie Lou for am impo-tant mission. It’s supah uw-gent, buh it am worth all ouw time.” Chestnut winked.
Before Imani could even ask what the mission was about, Chestnut was galloping off with excitement. She shrugged her forelegs, and then trotted up to Fannie Lou and the other elders. Webbie DaBoi was shuffling through a small burlap rice sack, which seemed to be full of baby food jars filled with tinctures and oils. He gasped in excitement as he pulled out the jar that he was looking for: a large baby food jar full of fermented beans and crushed acorns. Whatever oil was in the jar seemed to be leaching to the top as the amber sediment shook around. Santa Zapata gave the jar a gross look, but smiled once she saw Imani and her friends arrive.
“¡Holá Ms. Imani. Holá Senõr Cacao y Senõrita Coca. Will you two be joining us on our mission?” Zapata smiled a kind, mostly toothless grin.
“No ma’am, our apologies. We’re going to have to head back to our trailer by midnight tonight, and then we’re setting out for tour. We just said goodnight to our children.” Cacao smiled nervously.
“It am okay, Santa Zapata. We am ex-tweem-wee nervous, but we know ouw bebes awe held in good hoofs.” Coca grinned.
“Well alright then. Since we’re probably heading in the same direction, we can head back to your trailer with you guys. We don’t mind, and there’s safety in numbers.” Zapata then turned to Imani and Chestnut. “Imani, Chestnut, you’ll be going with Eggshell and a few other Fluffies to do Poopie Patrol and Rescue.”
“Woah. A Wescue Mission?” Imani felt chills trickle down her spine. “It’s been a hot minute since we gone on one of dose. And wast time, it was…”
“Imani, look,” Santa Zapata sighed, placing a hoof on Imani’s shoulder. “If you don’t wanna go, then you don’t have to. I know that it was pretty rough on you. But you’re one of our best ground charters, and you really know how to get the discarded foals to latch on and nurse. That’s the difference between life and death for a lot of abandoned fluffies out there.”
“Nononono-No, Iman-knee knows. If any-ting, Iman-knee’s been itchin’ fo’ a mission fo’ awhile. It’s just dat I feew wike if I am gonna go ‘gain, I’mma need some we-enforce-mints. Ya feel me?”
“I do. That’s why we’re gonna have Comfrey and Willow coming with you. They’ve been working with Rosalie to help scout for loose change and dandelion seeds,” Zapata pointed to a relatively well-manicured dandelion patch lined with stones.
“Thanks to them, we managed to build a nursing patch for all of the nursing mares who need to boost their milk supply. Plus, the change we’ve been finding and saving will help us buy a few seed packets and some extra beans we typically don’t get as donations.”
“Wow, otay den! A mission wid some old fweinds. You da best, Santa Zapata! Tank yew!” Imani gave the elderly fluffy a light squeeze, squeaking in surprise when it was returned much tighter than expected!
“Wait, wait, hold awn now- don’t forget the fermented acorn-bean paste!” Webbie DaBois walked up to Imani with a sling carrying two bottles. “You know what happened last winter when you Fluffs didn’t have this stuff on to mask your scent. It was a borderline disaster!”
Imani stumbled as the elderly Black Stallion slung his heavy satchel around her, but after a quick adjustment it sat snug across her chest comfortably. As the extra Fluffies started to trot out of their dens after Fannie Lou whistled into the sky, Imani started to look around for Willow and Comfrey. Soon enough, two brown mares started zigzagging around the town square, play-fighting and mock-wrestling. While the overt displays of aggression made most of the Fluffies around them scoff and roll their eyes, Imani giggled with excitement. She gave a shrill whinny akin to a bird whistle, and the two mares perked their heads up.
“Ayo, Wiwwow! Comfwey! Mission update, c’mere!”
“Coming!” “On our way!”
The brown mare with the unusually sharp horn and deep red-violet mane was obviously in the lead. But with an extra skip, jump, and a vigorous flapping of pine green tinged wings the other mare with dark, pine-colored coils gained traction. Imani sidestepped as the two crashed into each other, bickering all the while. The more they argued, the more Imani couldn’t help but laugh, until Fannie Lou cleared her throat and whistled another shrill whistle.
“I won!”
“No, I WON!”
“WILLOW AND COMFREY!”
“Eep!”
The two mares untangled themselves and respectfully bowed to Ms. Lou before lifting their heads back up. All their childlike energy was gone, replaced with bashfulness and a tinge of shame to their blush. Fannie Lou chuckled and waved them on over, which put the two mares at ease. With Imani trailing behind her teammates, Fannie Lou stood up straight and shook her locs before speaking, the clacking beads drawing attention.
“Hello everyone. Thanks for making it to the next BrownsTown Poopie Patrol and Rescue mission. I know that last Coldie-Time’s mission didn’t go as well as we expected- some of you had to… compromise in order to survive, and that’s rough. I’m sorry it happened, and Mr. DaBois has ensured that it won’t happen again. Now… Willow!”
The brown unicorn fluffy with the red-violet mane trotted up to Fannie Lou. “Yes Ms. Lou?”
“You and your sister Comfrey will be teaming up with Imani and Eggshell. She asked for reinforcements, and you’ve been known to deliver. After last time, she can’t be let down again- got it?”
“Yes Ms. Fannie Lou!”
“Good. You, Eggshell, Imani and Comfrey will focus on Brown and “Ugly” foal retrieval. If you get swarmed by horny Smarties again, don’t back down. You’re cleared for ‘Fence To Kill’, got it?”
“Y-yes Ms. Lou.” Willow gulped.
Turning over to Chestnut, Fannie Lou emitted another shrill whistle. “Chestnut! You, Maroon, and Aloe will be scouting for deformed foals and babies who might not make it. Whoever we can try to save, we save. For those we can’t? We’ll wrap them with honor and cremate them in the Prayer Pit.”
“Yes’m. As always, issa honuh.” Chestnut bowed. A maroon colored Unicorn with a black mane and a speckled, dark green Pegasus with a matching spotted mane stood next to him. “We mobe at your wowd.”
“Corncob and Peanut, you two will scavenge for coins and any wild seeds and weeds we can find. The more wild Lambs Quarters we can bring back to cultivate, the better.”
Two earth fluffy stallions approached the center of the meeting. Corncob was a muted mustard yellow with a brown, shaggy mane; while Peanut was an inverse of his brother: brown colored with a kinky mustard mane. Corncob had a cart hitched to him while his brother was placing empty mint tins into the cart. As Peanut finished counting up the tins, he turned to Fannie Lou and raised his hoof.
“Ms. Lou. Peanut wan’ kno’ where am go. P-p-pwease.”
“Of course.” Fannie Lou pulled out a crumpled receipt. “Ms. Imani, your son CoalHeart has managed to acquire enough funds in order to pay for the freedom of a few fluffies that were condemned to be pillow fluffs. We have the next 3 days to complete the pickup, and we have no time to waste. Cacao, Coca, since you won’t be coming with us, we’ll be escorting you back to your trailer tonight.”
“Thank you and Many Blessings, Ms. Lou. If there’s anything we can provide before we leave for tour, we’ll share it with you.” Cacao bowed his head.
Tucking the receipt back under her left wing, Fannie Lou started trotting towards the beaten path leading out of BrownsTown. Imani was a bit surprised to see the elderly Alicorn leading the charge, but then again she figured it made sense; she was one of the oldest Fluffies out of all of them, so of course she could guide them through the forest a lot more quickly. Fannie Lou picked up a surprisingly quick trot, her cracked horn emitting a soft, ultraviolet glow. Cacao and Coca’s cart had slowed down to merge with Imani’s group, and that was when Cacao had tapped on the jars strapped to her chest.
“Sooooo, that funky paste stuff. What’s it for again?”
“Oh! Iman-knee nebah told’chu! It am ‘Poopy Paste’, and it am made of few-ment-ted mushy beans and powdahed acowns!” Imani chuckled sheepishly. “We uh… smeaw it awl obah ouw Fwuff.”
“Ah, no way, gross!” Cacao chuckled, then ribbed Imani’s shoulder. “I joke, I joke. So like, what does it actually do?”
“We smeaw it obah ouw-selfs and each otha’ so dat meanie smawrties nu try to turn us into Poopie-Enfie Mawes!” Comfrey interjected. “Sometimes on Poopie Patwol Mission, meanie Smawties try to fuwss us to suck on no-nos in weturn for Dey ‘poopie’ or even ‘enfie’ bebbehs. You can pwolly imagine how scawy Dey can get when we say ‘No Meanie Smawty!’ Yikes!”
“Heww haf no fuwy wike a Howny Smawty scowned.” Willow smirked. “Das why most am time, we twy to cobah ouwselves in dah Poopie Paste! If we Nu Smeww Pwetty, den we nu get Bad, Scawy Enfies!”
“Holy shit, that’s actually really creative!” Cacao exclaimed. “Reminds me of the stories my Mami told me about rubbing expired avocado under your hooves and around the scruff of your neck to keep wild dogs and feral cats away from you. Oh, and the ears! Apparently the mold isn’t too bad if you stir the mixture everyday.”
“So, what am happen if you nu put it on?” Coca innocently asked.
Imani flinched. Almost everyone in the group tried to avoid making eye contact with her, but the tension was so thick it didn’t matter. Eggshell and Willow had trotted over to place a supportive hoof on each of Imani’s shoulders. Coca could sense that things felt off because she emitted a quiet whine. The pillowed fluffy seemed to feel really guilty too, because just as she was opening her mouth to apologize, Imani sighed and spoke up.
“It’s o-tay guys, I’m weady to tawlk bout it.” Imani moved her friends hooves from her shoulders gently. “Wast coldie-time, Eggsheww and I got a wead dat more bwown bebeh fwuffies and bebehs called ‘Nu-am-bestest’ wewe ’bandoned in nestie neaw ‘Pickles Dinah’. Well, da nestie was weal, and so was the bebbehs, but Eggsheww an’ I got jumped by a buncha toughies. Eggsheww got swawmed fightin’, a-and I got hit so hawd dat I had hewwa Boo-Boo juice flyin’ out mah sniffa!” Imani sighed.
“Eggsheww am do ebery-ting he can to get big toughies outta da way, weally twy! But dey uh… dey bonked me out, man.” Eggshell gulped.
“Dat was when dey sniffed me and noticed dat I no weaw-in da ‘Poopie Paste’. Which am BIG sa-pwise, since it was coldie-time den, and vewy, vewy hawd tuh smell duwing cold-time. We done wun outta da paste, buh we took mission anyway cuz of coldie-nu-sniffs and da fact dewe was Enfie Babehs. But dey am smelt me, a-and dey said…” Imani gulped. “Dey said ‘You shole am ug-wee, but ya’ no-nos smeww supah pwetty. We gibe you choice: gibe us Special Huggies and you get Enfie bebehs in one piece. And if you nu gibe us da Special Huggies? Den you awl get turned into Nummie Peices’. And den dey fwashed dey pointy teefs at me!”
“Woah, wait- what the fuck?” Cacao whipped his head around and came to an abrupt halt. “You got fucked up by Carnivore Fluffs?!”
“E-yup. And it’s not like Iman-knee wanted to get tuwn into nummies fo’ Carny-Fwuffs, so… Iman-knee got awn haunches and… did what Iman-knee hab tuh do.” Imani sniffled.
Eggshell went up to Imani to give her a tight embrace, as if asking for forgiveness twice over. Cacao had also leaned over to huddle with her, and soon Willow and Comfrey were wiping the tears away from Imani’s eyes. Coca was even cooing comfortingly, humming a Mummah song under her breath. Shaking her mane gently, she stared past the trees and the traversing herds as her gaze lost focus.
“Y’know da pawt dat feels weally messed up? Iman-knee knew am scawed, but… despite dat, Iman-knee nu hated it awl da way. I-Iman-knee nu hab Special Huggies in supah wong time, and eben doe it was meanie toughie fwuffies who caww me ‘Dummeh Enfie Poopie’ and ‘Stinky Coawl-Foal’…I-I-I s-stiww hab ‘Gud Fewws’.” Upon saying this, Imani had completely broken down into tears. “Iman-knee know it am nu awl in vain, c-cuz afta awl, I now hab my own littah ‘gain afta awl dis time. B-buh y’know. Iman-knee stiwl feew wike ‘Dutty Swut’. Dat am wast ting dey am cawwed me befowe we got to pick up bebehs and otha’ pawt of da Hewd fine-wee found us.”
“I-man-knee, Dawling, I am suuuu sowwy.” Coca sniffled. “Dewe am lotsa tings dat I went thwu as a smuggle Fwuffy dat am just as bad. Not jus’ wit meanie toughies, buh even two-weg meanies. It am big and scawy wowld. I wish it am nebah happen to yuh, eitha’. I’m jus’ gwad dat you pulled thwu.” Coca replied, misty-eyed.
Imani squeezed her way through her herd to stumble onto Coca’s crate. She embraced the pillowed fluffy with as much strength as she could muster, wiping her tears into her fur. As Imani pulled away, her world came back into focus and she realized that they were well behind all of the other herds.
“Aw shit. Where am ebwy-body?”
“IMANI! Ovah Hewe!” Comfrey shouted. “Dey jus’ went ovah Teeny Cweek. Come catch up!”
Feeling better now that she had a good cry, Imani beckoned her teammates to catch up to Comfrey. Ever the antsy fluffy, she had decided to glide ahead in order to scout for any remaining fluffies who were still straggling, while still being ahead of their own herd. Imani’s heart started beating with pride, and once again she was on her way. Poopie paste or not, she felt better surrounded by her friends and the foul-smelling bottles strapped to her chest.
As Fannie Lou and the rest of the BrownsTown herd finally arrived at Cacao’s Trailer, they stumbled upon a surprisingly chipper manager and a pretty large barbecue. Apparently Cacao’s manager, Señor Pedro, wasn’t expecting Cacao to come back as early as afternoon, and they decided to barbecue before heading out for their Latin American tour. The heavy scents of grilling Pollo Asado, Elotes and Parrillada had seemed to put Cacao at ease, and he trotted up to his manager to dap hand-to-hoof.
“Hola, tío, ¿cómo has estado? Si quieres que salgamos esta noche, podemos hacerlo. Sólo necesito darle algo a mis amigos.”
[Hey man, how have you been? If you wanna head out tonight, we can do that. I just need to give my friends something.]
“Muy bien. ¡Oye, si quieren platos antes de que se vayan, podemos prepararles algo de comer rápido!”
[Alright. Hey man, if they wanna plate before they go, we can fix them something to eat real quick!]
“Okay!”
Cacao placed his aluminum-plated hoof on a scanner next to the trailer before the Fluffy Door installed next to the human door unlocked. While he was slipping his way inside, Senior Pedro had taken the liberty to pull out some newspaper and place some freshly grilled elotes with extra cilantro and lemon on the floor for the herd to eat. A small chorus of “Gwacias!” and “Wow, tanks a lot nice Mistah” echoed over the bass-boosted reggaeton playing in the background. Imani had almost always had rocky relationships with humans; the positive ones she did have were few and far in-between. However, she was leaning towards the positive side of the fence as she admired the way Señor Pedro chilled with the men in his plastic wicker chair, occasionally teasing the small children running around the parking lot.
Soon enough, Cacao had reemerged from his trailer door carrying a black grocery bag in his mouth. He bucked the scanner with one of his back legs to lock the Fluffy Door, and galloped down the stairs up to his new friends. Imani and her herd all had a confused look on their faces as Cacao spat the bag on the ground, panting all the while.
“Geez Louise, man. You need sum wata!” Eggshell exclaimed, pushing a dog bowl of fresh water towards his brother. “Speakin’ of which, wat’s in da bag?”
“Pepper spray grenades. Take a look,” Cacao wiped the water off his muff. “These are specifically formulated for wild bears, but they also work well for feral fluffies; especially the carnivorous ones.”
As Imani and the crew shuffled around the bag, she picked up a pink one with a weird black string attached to it. Just as she grabbed it, Cacao whinnied in a panic and gently took it from her hoof.
“Hey! Iman-knee am sowwy.”
“Yeah, I know. But you gotta be careful as hell with these! Cuz if you’re not,” Cacao pulled the string off said grenade and chucked it as hard as he could towards the woods. “Then they’ll blow ya’ damn head off.”
Just as he said that, the grenade popped loudly, exploding into a giant red puff of sriracha powder and a spicy, skunk-like stench. Even with the cloud wafting away from them, it was enough to make the herd’s eyes faintly water. They coughed loudly into their hooves and made sure to wipe their matted eyelids clean. Cacao then pulled out a squeeze water bottle and shook it up, showing it to the team.
“This is some powdered instant milk. I made sure to mix it with a lot of cold water! You use this to flush your eyes out when you get too much of the pepper spray in your eyes- kinda like this!”
Without warning, Cacao had fired off a few warning squirts into Eggshell’s irritated eyes, much to his surprise. The baby blue speckled fluffy looked pissed at first, but upon wiping his eyes on his fur and licking the milk off his snout, he exclaimed: “Wow! Dat am Bettah!”
“See! Told ya’ it’d work.” Cacao grinned.
“Cacao, seriously. We can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us. I wish we could stay longer, but we only have a few minutes until sunset arrives.” Fannie Lou bowed her head to Cacao. “Mister Pedro, if I may please?”
“Hm?” The manager licked the last of the chicken off the bone and tossed it to one of the fluffies. “What’s good.”
“I know it’s not a lot, but I wanted to give you something that we’ve managed to scavenge throughout our times during missions. I hope it means something, even if it’s not a lot.”
It was then that Fannie Lou pulled out a small, translucent cloth bag filled with the shiniest Pennies that any of the Fluffies had ever seen. Many members of the herd “ooooohh” and “aaaahhh” at the shimmering collection in the amber afternoon sun.
“B-buh Ms. Lou? Won’t we need dem for buyin’ seeds fwom da Dolla Twee?” Comfrey asked.
“Don’t worry Comfrey. CoalHeart has our back and said in the letter that he had some extra change to spare.” Fannie Lou said confidently. “Besides, I wanna thank Mr. Pedro and Cacao somehow!”
“Oh, that’s a very sweet guesture, Miss Fanny. Unfortunately, there’s not much that I can do with, um… $3.00 worth of Pennies.” Señor Pedro chuckled. “But I appreciate it anyway. Good luck on your mission.”
“And Best of Luck on your Tour!” Fannie Lou grinned. “Alright, BrownsTown herd: let’s move!”
And with the sunset’s rays gracing their path, and bellies full of good food and well wishes, the BrownsTown Herd were off on their mission.
End of: Fluffy School.
Author’s Note: Thanks for Reading! The next chapter is going to be really Action-Packed, and the worldbuilding for this pone was fun! I know it’s a few weeks late, but the good stuff is gonna keep coming!
Link to Google Doc: Ebony the Fluffy Filly 3: Fluffy School (Ebony the Fluffy Filly 3: Fluffy School - Google Docs)
