Ebony the Fluffy Filly
- A Fluffy Narcocorrido Symphony
Around the crack of dawn during the humid heat of a sunny May Day, a dozing Eggshell wiggled at the glistening specks of moistened lint stuck on his snout. With reckless abandon, his little body let out a walloping “AH-CHOO!”, startling the blue jays and robins of BrownsTown. Ah well. No matter. It was time to get up and get going.
Before Eggshell trotted outside of his hollowed tree trunk with vigor for the day’s typical tasks, he took his time to stretch both his front and hind legs, take a huge yawn, and plop down on his fuzzy round butt. He then took a few deep breaths, and thought “happy thinky thots” about his very own special mission out of BrownsTown and straight to the cobblestone bodega of his Tío and Tía. He focused on the fact that it would take six sunrises and seven sunsets until Fluffy School started. He focused on the fact that as scary as the long journey was gonna be, the fate of BrownsTown depended on him having courage and visiting his family every so often.
“Eggshell luv Famwee. Eggshell luv Tìo y Tìa. Most ’portant doe- Eggshell nu a Lil’ Biyatch!” And with that, Eggshell got off his fluffy butt and kicked his hind legs in the air with a Whinny. “Yee-haw!”
Practically galloping out of the tree trunk, Eggshell waved excitedly to the brown and green neighbors who were emerging from a dug-in fluffy den. On the curly, dark caramel mane of the moss green fluffy, a variety of mahogany and dappled brown baby fluffs peeped with vigor. The brown fluffy with a wavy chestnut mane trotted over, flicking his tail with glee.
“Top of da mornin’ Eggy. Wha brings yew out tuh-day?” The humble earth pony bowed his head. “Muh Special Fren Cwadette here jus gabe burth to Cutest! Fwuffies! Ebah! Yuh sista said she check on dem today!”
“Sounds gweat, Chess-nut.” Eggshell smiled, throwing a front leg around Chestnut’s shoulders. “Speakin’ of gweat: where’s da cawt? Didja finally figah out da wheels?”
“Oh, yuh betcha! C’mere.” Trotting past the fluffy dens and the current badger dens that were ‘undah we-cun-stuck-tion’, Chestnut finally led Eggshell to what looked like a partially decomposed IKEA crate with wheels haphazardly drilled to the bottom. “Me an da Stawwions figured out if yuh tipped it ovah and used sum horn-fwuffy magic, tha screwy bits go back togetha’. Ain’t life gwand?”
Sure enough, when Eggshell tentatively moved the card, the creaky metal wheels began to squeak and move along. Eggshell let out a tiny little ‘yippie!’ and a extra whinny to boot. He trotted to the front where a ragged dog harness tied to a rope harness laying, and wrestled with putting it on. It took Chestnut helping him out with adjusting the harness and the buckles to fasten everything right, but once they were attached, Eggshell was ready to go. With a big smile on his face and a flip of his mane, the sturdy Earth fluffy was ready for his task.
Waving goodbye to many of the herd members, Eggshell waved his scabbed and hardened hoof goodbye to every fluffy he passed. When he reached the end of the BrownsTown clearing, his sister Rosalie galloped to him as quickly as possible.
“HERMANO!” She shouted, throwing her front legs around him in a huge embrace. “Don’t be a dummy Fluffy like las’ time an tawk to meanie smarties! Dey don’t deserve good nummies for da lil’ fillies an foals. Otay?”
“Oh truss me sis, Ah learnt my lesson da hawwwwd WAY! Sometimes, big hearties eqwuals big hurties.” Eggshell sighed in embarrassment, pushing his sister aside. “You ain’t gotta tell Hermano Eggshell twice.”
“Tell Tìo and Tìa I say Hi, okay? Give lotsa Huggies too,” Rosalie sighed sadly. “I woulda come like lass time, buh I gotta do tink-Ture time wit new Bebehs today. So be brave, Brudda.”
With that, Rosalie met Chestnut and Claudette at her den, and Eggshell set off on his long and arduous journey to his highly anticipated destination: the Bodega.
The BrownsTown Village was a chewed out, deciduous Georgia haven surrounded by large trees coated in kudzu vines and wild beans. The trail of wild violets and crabgrass lead Eggshell to a tiny creek lined with mossy, gangrene rocks and fallen trees. This trail would typically lead on for at least a mile, a trek that would take the average human around half an hour. However, Eggshell was cautious and didn’t wish to be caught by another ‘Munstah Halcíon’. So using whatever wits he could, he stuck to the tall crabgrass and wild lettuces. It was a bit rough on the wheels of his cart, but after at least 2 hours of sneaky trotting, he made it to the telltale checkpoint of his trip.
Looking up, Eggshell sniffed the distinct wafting scent of the late-flowering pawpaw tree. The little red flowers that were full of pollen were beginning to turn a deep wine color and wilt, the petals gently fluttering around in the wind. Eggshell couldn’t help but giggle, leaping up to try and catch a few petals in his mouth, with mixed results. He was deeply vindicated however, when he managed to catch an entire bloom by the edge of his front teeth. Extremely proud of his accomplishment, he placed the bloom in the wooden crate, and picked up a few more dried out ones.
Before he set back off on his journey however, Eggshell heard the giggling of several young fluffies jumping around and playing. Turning to his left, he saw a faded wooden shed in the distance with a few fluffies leaping and frolicking around. It was then that he realized that the little fluffies looked familiar…
“No maw-mes… is dat Iman-knee’s housie?” He quirked his eyebrow.
Eggshells suspicions were confirmed when he saw a jet black pony with silky lavender coils leap out from behind a giant dandelion leaf, startling his siblings. Obsidian, the once struggling and ever-tired chirpy baby, was seemingly now entering his ‘talkie baby phase’- and with quite the leap! His eyes were wide open, shimmering orbs of ember that would dart around the tall grassy fields with mischief. It was amazing to see him alive and well, frolicking with inexhaustible vigor. With a deep sigh, Eggshell smiled once again, and trotted away from the flowering pawpaw tree to his right.
As he traveled down the trail heading towards his destination, Eggshell couldn’t help but reflect on his early childhood. Born into a pigpen full of once feral fluffies, his Mami and Papi were well known for being underground fluff fighters. His father had won numerous awards from battling several different fluffies hopped up on steroids and muscle enhancing substances while drier than straw; while his mother had given birth to multiple litters of hardened fighters post-retirement. Interestingly enough, Eggshell’s mother wasn’t as predisposed to being a mother as most fluffies were and adored her career as a fighter; while many female fluffies would throw anything on the line to be “bestest Mummah evah”, Eggshell’s mother had a different view on “Mummahhood”.
“Wecuerda a mi hijo; los fluffies son swuaves y frágiles. El mundo es malo y duwo. Dale a Huggies, pero no te asustes de dar wastimas dampoco.”
[Wemenbah my son; Fwuffies are soft an’ fwagile. Da world is mean an’ tough. Give Huggies, but don’t be scawed to give hurties eidah.]
“Sí, Mumi.”
Eggshell’s chirpy baby memories of him, his mother, and his closest sister were deeply bittersweet. Moments of her cleaning him, singing Spanish lullabies, and being nestled right in the middle of the chirpy baby pile. Moments of him preferring to sleep under everyone in the pile, even when he was occasionally moved to the top. Eggshell still had hazy memories of the day he first opened his eyes; the first thing he saw being the multiple medals and ribbons hanging above him that shone like stars in the midnight sky. Endless hours of hide and seek with his siblings and listening to his father tell folktales… those fleeting memories were sacred.
Eggshell also remembered how his mother gouged the throat of a roid-raging Pegasus who glided off a loosened ledge in their barn in an attempt to attack his baby brother Cacao, his only brown-furred, dark maned brother with white socks for legs. He also remembered how horrified he, Rosalie and his other siblings were when his mother stood up triumphantly on all fours… only to be missing her left eye. Her right breast had also been smashed to the point she was leaking blood from the damaged nipple; possibly attacked out of spite. Only her horn, sharpened and maintained by her owner, had survived the blood-soaked exchange relatively unharmed.
While Rosalie and the other younger fluffies raced to their mother to ‘gib Huggies’, Eggshell’s foal self was consumed with nothing but rage and disdain towards Cacao. Stomping over on all four hooves, he stood up on his hind legs, and punched the runt square in his snout with both hooves.
“¡ESTÚPIDO PUTA NEGWO FWUFFY!” The baby blue fluffy screamed, throwing his front right leg down on Cacao’s coily mane. “Mumi awlmost go forebah sweepies cuz a YEW! Now nestie habe wess milkies for awl da wittle fiwwies an fowls. Eggshell nu wan h-h-h-hatchu, buh…Eggshew know what gotta d-“
Before Little Eggshell could raise his right hoof to stomp out Cacao’s eye, a flash of sienna and sawdust with straw for a mane flashed by and tackled him to the ground. It took him several moments to recover, but by the time he opened his eyes the only thing Eggshell could see in front of him was a pair of furious eyes glowing like smoky embers.
“¡NO!” Rosalie shouted, pointing her horn right between his eyes. “No voy a lastimaw a herwanito. ¡Cacao dindu nuffin! Meanie Pegasus twata de hewiw al hewmano porque el’ ama a todos! Y eso incluye Choco-late Bebeh! Cachawwo duh huevo. Lo es. ¡Significado!
[No voy a lastimar a hermanito. ¡Cacao dindu nuffin! Meanie Pegasus trata de herir al hermano porque ella ama a todos! Y eso incluye Chocolate Baby! Cacharro de huevo. Lo es. ¡Significado!]
[No gib hurties to Cacao! Cacao dindu nuffin! Mummah gib hurties to meanie Pegasus cuz Mummah luv all Fwuffies.! An dat incwudes Choc-wate Bebeh. Eggshell. Is. MEANIE!]
With an air of finality, Rosalie shot off a tiny spark that set off the static that surrounded Eggshell’s soft, scruffy baby fur. The shock hurt, and it startled him so badly that he ran away and hid himself in the crevice of an old mouse hole and sobbed heavily.
Eggshell remembered hiding in that abandoned hide hole for almost two days straight.
“Aaah!”
A sharp but puny sting snapped Eggshell out of the fog of his childhood memories. As he looked up into the sky, he saw a small swarm of mosquitoes fluttering around a nearly-evaporated puddle. The smell of petrichor fluttered across his nostrils, and he decided to sniff out his favorite tree hollow that he normally hid in to sleep along the trip. After a moment of trotting down the winding path, he saw the gaping maw near the bottom of a young sequoia covered with leaves and pine needles. A brush aside, a nuzzle into the gaping maw, and a few adjustments to the “Storm Nestie”, the baby blue speckled fluffy was ready to settle in for his rainy nap.
“Mummah Mummah, look! Ah found Fwuffy pick-tor!” Reddy Rich squealed.
After a long afternoon of frolicking in the gentle sun, the four little fluffies had trotted in and settled in for “inside pway” with a small tin of discovered marbles. After playing around in the shed, Reddy Rich had decided to show off by leaping on the rusty metal chair next to the desk that the family typically pooped under at night. By the time he climbed onto the desk, he found the treasure of the day: a nearly-faded catalog of “Fluffy Breeder’s Digest”, one that was years out of date. He grabbed the magazine with his teeth and leapt off the desk with triumph, spitting out the magazine and holding his head up with pride.
“Wooooaaah, pwetty fiwwy! She hab loooong mane and tail!” YellaBone cooed, pointing at a green filly with a yellow mane.
“Wow, lookit’ dat! It looks so yummy! Is dat arroz y fwioles?” Ebony asked, pointing to an odd-looking dish. “Mummah, wha is dat?”
“One moment Eb-knee, Mummah’s coming.”
Imani had just settled Obsidian down for bed early after his last ever nursing. The pitch dark filly had made literal leaps and bounds in his progress when it came to eating; and he had gotten to the point where he started weaning a few days early. The little baby had taken to grass like a champ, and he was growing up big and strong like his siblings. Imani was proud of his rebound, and she was excited for Obsy to go to “Fluffy School” with his siblings.
“Hullo Eb-knee, what is it?” Trotting up towards the papers and sniffed the pictures, then gasped. “Sketties!”
“Sketties?” Ebony asked, cocking her head. “Mummah, what’s Sketties?”
“Oh bebeh, Sketties is when you take lotsa yum yums called “pas-tuh” and den add Skettie Sawce! Didja kno dat Skettie sawce comes from yummy red bawl from a big Gween plant? The magic bawl is called… t-t-tuh-May-toe!” Imani grinned.
“Wooooow.” The three baby fluffies cooed.
“Mummah Mummah, where you learn dat from?” YellaBone asked excitedly. “Mummah so, so SO so Smawt!”
“Well, yuh see,” Imani sat down on her haunches, sighing heavily. “When Mummah use to be ‘Ferwal’ Mummah had meanie herd dat hurt Mummah all da time. And if Mummah want tings ta get a lil’ bit bettah, Mummah had to sneak around housie yards and steal nummies for herd. Sometimes, Mummah wood find old, round bawl with green fuzzies on it, and Mummah wood take back to herd. Das what herd told Mummah it was, eben when Mummah nevah got any.” Imani frowned. “Meanie herd did tings to Mummah dat Mummah… Mummah don’t ebah wanna tawk ‘bout. Cuz Dey was SUPAH meanies. A-an when Mummah did hab Bebehs, awmost awl Mummah’s Bebehs were called “Ugwie Bebehs” or even “P-p-poopie Bebehs”, s-sometimes even “Munstah Bebeh”. And when Bebeh wasn’t too ugwie, or poopie, or Munstah, den Mummah was told “No, no, NO! Dat nuh am bebeh, you STOLE dat bebeh. Bebeh too Pweetie for yuh!” Imani sniffled.
“Oh no Mummah! Huggies!” ReddyRich squealed, racing to hug his mother. The other fillies followed suit, and the small family was cuddling together. “Meanie head herd no make sense, ennyway! What am “Poopie Bebeh” supposed ta be enneh-how?”
The fillies and foal all peeped and chirped in curiosity at their Mummah’s tragic past. Imani gave a forlorn smile and wrapped her front legs around her children, leaning down to groom their foreheads.
“Well, ‘Poopie’ was da name given to Mummah’s and bebehs that wooked like me and Eb-knee: Bwown Fluffies.” Imani sighed, leaning over to give said filly a giant lick on the cheek. “But herd was so meanie that sometimes even Fluffies wike YellaBone was ‘uglie’, cuz her mane an’ tail is too frizzy wike mine! And Dey woulda said dat ReddyRich is ‘aww-most pwitty fluffy’ cuz he not soopah doopah bwite red, an’ he got lotsa Fweckels. Meanie Herd HATED Fweckles; Dey always called ‘em ‘Poopie Dots’.”
By the time Imani had finished pinpointing an insignificant trait from each Fluffy, they had begun to sniffle. Imani scooped them all up in her arms, and gently started to rock them back and forth. As their sniffles died down, Imani giggled and continued to lick their foreheads.
“Siwwy Bebehs, don’tchu cry. Mummah knows that meanie herd no know nuthin’. Awl fluffy Bebehs good Bebehs, no Mattah what Otha dummy fluffies say. No fluffy am Poopie, Ugwie, or even Munsta!” Imani beamed.
“B-buh Mummah. If herd am so meanie, how you get away? And where am bebeh Fwuffies in da story?” YellaBone looked up at her mom and fluffed her wings in curiosity. “Yella is Con-foozed!”
“Don’t worry, YellaBone. One day, Meanie Herd gave Mummah Iman-knee babeh they called ‘Munstah Poopoo’. Munstah Poopoo was given to Mummah as a ‘Pwank’. Mummah Iman-knee had nu idea wha ‘Pwank’ was, but Mummah was sooooo excited!” Imani chuckled. “Dis babeh had Wingies and a pointy, and he was as dawk as Ob-siddy-an, and covered in bwown Poopie Dots. Dey… Dey did awl sorts of meanie things to him. Meanie things dat Mummah nuh can say. But Iman-knee did sumpthin’ dat gave Herd biggest supwise evah!”
“What Mummah do, what Mummah do?” Interjected ReddyRich.
“Welp, Mummah lookit’ sweet lil’ Munstah Poopoo, and lookit how lil’ foal cry and cry and cry, till Mummah Iman-knee hummed Lully-bye, and gave little foal milkies.”
“Yay, Milkies!” Ebony cheered.
“Das rite! An den, Mummah Iman-knee spoke up an say: ‘Mummah neva been ‘lowed to keep Bebehs before, but now here am give bebeh. Bebeh neva eat milkies befo’; Neva had huggies, and fo’ sho’ Neva had Luv. But if you give Mummah Iman-knee dis one chance, den Mummah will be da BESTEST Mummah ebah!” Imani sighed. “Den meanie herd did sumting dat Iman-knee no expect: Whole Fluffy Herd Got BIG MAD™️. And when herd get Big Mad™️, den you bettah run, or you gon Die!” Imani cackled, leaving her foals and fillies with confounded looks on their faces.
“But Mummah Iman-knee ran! Ran fawww, fawww ‘way til she ran cross da road at nite. Ran till she fell ovah and had Wawa sickies. Keep runnin’ til can trot, den keep trot till can only walk, den keep walk till she fell deep sleep. And when Mummah finally woke up, she and ha babeh was picked up by Big shiny black wingie-pointy stawwion with pretty purple mane. Eyes pwetty and dark, but warm jus’ like Coal… just like Mummah’s Awee-corn Angewl.”
By the time Imani had finished her story, her foals were fast asleep in her arms. Gently placing them on her back, she tiptoed over to the buddy-bye crate and settled down carefully, pulling Obsidian into her arms.
“Nighty-nite, lil’ Bebehs. More Mummah stories soon… Mummah pwomise.”
There it was. The final frontier.
The wide expanse of the tar-concrete sea stretched as wide as Eggshell’s eyes could see. After exiting the forest and trudging over a series of leaky culverts up a grassy knoll, Eggshell had finally made it to his home base: Angelito’s Bodega. The back of the bodega had locked trash cans, with a noticeably large worm compost bin. The back door had a doggie flap, and from what the light blue speckled fluffy could see, the faint light beaming from the small section of grated gorilla glass was an indication of someone being present. Taking a deep breath, Eggshell trotted onto the cracked sidewalk, closed his eyes, and focused his energy towards his ears to listen for any fast cars. Only a few passed by, and Eggshell let his mind drift once again under the faint light of a flickering streetlight.
One the second evening of that fateful night, Eggshell’s father has trotted into the barn, flapping the heavy rain off of his wings and airing them out with pride. With his glistening dark chestnut coat, silken black socks for legs, and his silvery-white mane, Eggshell was absolutely enamored by his father. However, as his siblings flocked over to greet his Papi, a great, big ball of shame started to build up in his stomach. Papi was going to find out about his transgression against Cacao, the only brown fluffy who was the near spitting image of his father. The littlest baby that was always tucked in between his dad’s wings, belting his little heart out whilst making up the lyrics to his own Narcocorridos along with their dad. The more he saw Cacao singing the ballads of Los Huracanes Del Norte, the absolute worse he felt. Tiny Eggshell emitted a moan of grief as he tried to sink further under the floorboards, but to no avail.
“Rosalie, Cacao, Atzi, Tunas… hm. Metztli, mi amor, do you know where Eggshell am?” His father asked.
“Oh, Eggshell. Poor Bebe is prolly still hidin’.” Metztli sighed, the midnight purple and grey-speckled unicorn sighed, ruffling her greying lavender mane in the process. “Mami done evry-tin she can to get Babeh to come out, but he still hidin’, Acalan. Mami am sorry.”
“Nuuuu, nu be sorry Metztli. Let Acalan handle it.” Acalan outstretched his right wing and wrapped it around his lover, gently licking her temple. “Milkie nipples am bettah?”
“Si. Nurse Ramiwez said wit anti-begot-ick, they gone be awl bettah in a few days. Mummah sooooo re-weaved!” Metztli beamed. “Vamus, bebés. Mamá ne-ce-cita alimentary-tarte, pewo sé muwy, MUWY swave, ¿de acuewdo?”
[Vamos bebés. Mamá necesita alimentarte, pero sé muy, muy suave, ¿de acuerdo?]
[Come on babies. Mommy needs to feed you, but be very, VERY gentle, okay?]
With anxiousness tickling the soles of his hooves and nervousness nipping at his tail, Eggshell rushed across the cracked tar path as fast as he could. As the streetlights flickered and the fluttering littler floated through the windy night, Eggshell couldn’t help but feel the cold wind seep through his coat and hit his bones as an appraisal of his shame. What felt like a fluffy lifetime of torment was easily over in less than 15 seconds, but that made no difference to Eggshell. Before he knew it, he had tripped over a sizable branch and ended up sliding and stumbling down the hill, rickety cart and all.
When Eggshell had managed to get back up on all four of his hooves, he heard something intriguing: a familiar fluffy voice bleating out ballads. As he came closer, his ears flicked as he picked up on the bittersweet lyrics dancing on a fluffy’s tongue.
Una vez conocí a una almohada Fluffy
Que me rogó que le hiciera el amor,
Le dije que tenía prisa.
Me dijo que su coño estaba encantado,
Mientras sacudía su culo en el colchón
Así que decidí Oblige.
Cuando metí mi pene dentro de ella,
Volé más y más alto
Pero entonces me fui a mi consternación!
Su coño estaba relleno
¡Al borde de cocaína!
¡Y ahí fue cuando la hice mi Novia!
Oooooh Cocaine Fluffy, Cocaine Fluffy,
¡Tu vida es tan amarga, es verdad!
Si aún tuvieras tus alas, tus piernas y tu fisgona,
Estoy seguro de que escaparás de tu condena.
Pero Coca, pero Coca, te amo tanto,
Y tu dolor me manda volar alto,
Así que por favor no llores, dulce Coca Fluff,
¡Tu sufrimiento termina esta noche!
[I once met a Pillow Fluffy
Who begged me to make love to her,
I told her that I was in a hurry.
She told me her pussy was enchanted,
As she shook her ass on the mattress
So I decided to Oblige.
When I put my dick inside her,
I flew higher and higher
But then I pulled out to my dismay!
Her pussy was stuffed
To the brim with Cocaine!
And that’s when I made her my Bride!
Ooooooh Cocaine Fluffy, Cocaine Fluffy,
Your life is so bitter, it’s true!
If you still had your wings and your legs and your snoot,
I’m sure you’d escape your Doom.
But Coca, but Coca, I love you so,
And your grief sends me flying high,
So please don’t cry, sweet Coca Fluff,
Your suffering ends tonight!]
As Eggshell slipped through the doggy door and brushed his hooves on the tattered welcome mat, he was greeted by a curious and welcoming sight: he saw his gray and white speckled Tío Maximus clopping his hooves while his faded yellow Tía Maria beat on a tiny conga drum leaning against the supermarket refrigerators. Towards the front of the Bodega, he saw several of his cousins whinnying while dancing on their hind legs; the consistent tapping on the worn linoleum creating a hypnotic rhythm. To the right of him, he saw a curly rust-red pillow fluff with a smattering of gorgeous black and ginger curls. Where she should have had wings she had two feathery stumps that flicked and fluttered in rhythm with the music. She was sitting on a crate with several wheels that seemed to be modified to be a cheap wheelchair; with a scrawled-on placard and everything. She had tears in her eyes, and was rocking her head back and forth.
Below her was none other than her presumed litter: a chestnut colored Pegasus foal with gray speckled wings; a gray Pegasus filly with a black snout and curly black socks for legs, and a deep, Royal Violet and White spotted Unicorn foal with shiny chocolate-colored hooves. The unicorn was much too old to be chirping and peeping at his age, but seemed to have an affinity for music, as he was clopping his hooves to play a mini xylophone alongside the music. Something else that Eggshell noticed was that all of the baby fluffies had tiny wooden horseshoes attached to their hooves.
And who else would be the center of attention other than the little brown runt now turned superstar: Cacao! His gray speckles had come through with his age, and around his fetlocks he had crocheted scrunchies with golden bells sewn onto them. He had a crochet cowboy hat that was frayed and covered with pins, and in his hooves was a guitalele; a small hybrid between a guitar and a ukulele. What really made him stand out, however, were the aluminum-plated horseshoes that were attached to his hooves; shimmering under the flickering fluorescent lights. As he stopped singing and strumming the guitar, Caco turned to face his brother and gave a beaming grin.
“Eggshell, mí Hermano! ¿Cómo, Cómo?” The chocolate brown fluff hopped to his hind legs, his front legs outstretched for a hug. Eggshell rushed into his brother’s arms, grinning all the worthwhile. “¿Dónde está Rosalie?”
“Wo siento hermano, pero Wosalie no puduh venir. Una famiwia en la villa BrownsTown dio a luz por pwimera vez, y tuvo que bendecir a los bebés.”
[Sowwy bruh, but Wosalie couldn’t make it. A famiwy in the BrownsTown Villa gave birth for da first time, and she had to bless da Bebehs .]
“Awww, eso es una pena. Pero esos bebés tienen tanta suerte de tenerla.” Cacao sighed, giving Eggshell a final squeeze before flopping back onto his haunches. “¿Qué te trae por aquí?”
[Awww, that’s a shame. But those babies are so lucky to have her. So, what brings you here?]
“Oh, it’s Fwuffy Schoo’!” Eggshell beamed, catching the attention of most of the fluffies in the Bodega, even catching the attention of the Bodega owner. “Mudam Alondra, Eggshell am here to pickup da’ old arroz y frijoles. Fwuffy Schoo’ am startin’ soon, an’ Eggshell needa make shure dat school supply am filled up an ready!”
“Woah, Fluffy Schoo’? Now that’s a term Cacao hasn’t heard in a while.” Cacao grinned. “Eggshell, ya’ done came at perfect time for a busy fluff like me!”
Turning around and whistling a shrill whistle, Caco managed to catch the attention of the pillow fluff and the litter of baby fluffs. “Ah, HIS litter.” Eggshell couldn’t help but crack a fond smile as the three little ones stumbled towards him; as their excitement was infectious. One by one, the two pegasi and their unicorn brother lined up in a row, while their Mummah rocked in her makeshift wheelchair to roll it forward. Cacao turned towards his small but precious family, eager to get on with the introductions.
“¡Hola! This little Pegasus is Mi hijo, Tilin. He loves to jump really high!” Cacao gave the gray-speckled Chestnut foal a slight boost to leap off the ground, his surprising large wingspan fluttering in the air.
“This little Pegasus is Mi hija, Zorra. She loves to dance, and she’s learning how to dance the Jarabe!” Cacao tapped out a rhythm with one of his front hooves, and the little gray filly with the black socks and snout came forward to dance a brief ditty.
“And this lit’ sen-see-tive Unicorn is named Cabrón! He only knows a few words, but Talkie Therapy and lotsa Ms. Rachel is helping him out.” Cacao took extra care to gently scoot the dark violet and white spotted foal up to his uncle, who was cowering in shyness. “Vamos, bebé. Puedes hacerlo: ¡saluda!” [C’mon baby boy. You can do it: say hi!]
Quietly trotting up towards Eggshell, the speckled Unicorn looked around the shop, and then recentered his gaze on Eggshell. With deep amber eyes that were nearly pitch black under the fluorescent lighting, the tiny Unicorn nervously snorted. And then…
“Peep… peePeep. PeePo HAI! Chirrup! ¡Mi Wamo pEep Kabwón! CHEEP!” Cabrón broke the tension with a large, lopsided smile, and everyone in the bodega cheered with triumph.
“And of course, I could neva, EVAH forget the lovely Mummah to my precious Bebehs: Coca!” Cacao grinned, trotting over to the Rusty pillowed Mare and petting her back with his front hoof. “Coca and I got married on tour after being special friends for almost 2 years! Can you believe that? This was our first successful litter!”
“Bw-bu-Buenas noches, señor Huevo. ¡Es un placer conocerte! Cacao dice que eres el mejor hewmano mayor d-de todos losss tiempos! ¡Coca está en-can-tada de conocerte!” Coca stuttered with a slight slur to her voice, but she spoke slowly, taking painstaking effort to enunciate her words.
[Gw-gu-Good Evening, Mistuh Eggshell. It is Soooo nice to meet you! Cacao says you’re the best big bruddah ever! Coca is happy tuh meet you!]
“El plazure es mío, señowa.” [Da pweazure is mine, Ma’am.] Eggshell bowed humbly.
The baby blue stallion secretly hoped that the cold shot of guilt tingling through his veins wasn’t noticeable. Turning to face his brother again, he cleared his throat. “So, you on tow, huh? What brings you ‘round? Last time Eggshell came durin’ wintah for nummie stash, Mudam Alondra said yuh nuh be back till Summah. Is ea-wee, ain’t it?”
“Heh heh, yeah. Got me there, Big Bruddah.” Cacao snickered. “How-EVAH: Cacao, Coca, and Cabrón need to check in with Talkie Therapist and touch base. For some reason, xylophone brings out best talkies in Cabrón, and they wanna write something called duuuuuuh- hm.” Cacao impatiently tapped his aluminum horseshoe on the linoleum.
“It am Eye-E-Pee, dawlin’.” Coca interjected with pride. “Hoomin managah Senõr Pedro am soooo nice and helpful. Found nice Fwuffy science-wa- uhm, science lay-dee who luvs Fluffies; wants to see us be happy and talk bettah. She even helped wit supah cool wheelie chair!”
“And we would like it if the litter could stay in BrownsTown for awhile to go to Fluffy Schoo’! At least until Fall, cuz that’s when our Latin America hoof of the Tour ends!” Cacao grinned. “Speaking of which, Madam Alondra, Senõr Pedro brought lotsa dry beans and brown rice for Eggshell and Rosalie. Can we meet up with some friends to get it taken to da Village?”
“Yes, of course. But what’re you gonna do with the beans and tortilla flour that’s already expired? Y’know I can’t take that to the food bank.” Alondra inquired.
“Don’t worry, Madam. We’ll take everything we can get; Fluffies can’t be Finicky!” Cacao jokes, nudging Eggshell with his shoulder. “Now c’mon man! We gotta find CoalHeart and the gang! They’re gonna LOVE alla’dis!”
“Coaw-Hart?!” Eggshell cracked a grin, wagging his tail excitedly. “Say wess, man. Wes GO!”
Several blocks over at the edge of the rural downtown city, rested a once abandoned shopping duplex now covered in a disarray of flags, posters, graffiti and stickers. The overgrown hillsides and the rocky backyard we’re being tamed by community garden beds and Laundry Drying Lines. The inside of one of the buildings was plastered with posters advertising community self-defense classes and Tae-Kwon-Do. Outside of the building were a pair of middle-aged men, sitting on plastic wicker chairs while playing spades on a rusty garden table. One of them was a middle aged man with rich, dark skin and Bantu knots. He was smoking a slack joint of marijuana while flinging down a book of cards. His partner, another dark-skinned man with cornrows wearing a faded purple bandanna around his neck.
Snoring quietly next to them, right below the rusty garden table, was a rich, pitch-black Alicorn with a shimmering black mane with purple highlights. He was a stallion, and his stature was short for his breed, but he made up for it in muscle. What made this Alicorn unique however was the fact that his kinky-haired mane was parted and twisted into beautiful, luscious dreadlocks. The mane was dyed with fluffy-safe dye to have silvery-lilac locks in certain areas, which helped to bring out the midnight black-blue undertones of the darkly colored mane. At the sounds of bells rattling and fluffies whinnying, the black Alicorn woke up and stretched out his haunches.
“Ayo CoalHeart! Long time no see, Bay-beeeee!”
“Wait a minute…Cacao?” The Alicorn, now known as CoalHeart, perked his ears up and grinned. “CACAO! EGGSHELL! No way, my guy! It’s been forever!”
“Ya tellin Me, man. C’mere,” Cacao smiled as he dapped the Alicorn up. “Hey Eggshell. Remember when Senor Pedro used to bring us out here for singing lessons by Missus Kathy?”
“Missus Kah-Ty? Ohhh.” Eggshell grimaced, a sudden wash of bad emotions trickling down his back. “Da meanie Sing-Song Wady who cawwed us names?”
“Uhhh, yeah. That lady. Anyways, CoalHeart used to live in a Safety Shelter not too far away from here, and he was one of the people who protected us back when we was little!” Cacao took one aluminum-plated hoof and rubbed it into CoalHeart’s dreadlocks. “Sometimes he’d even stay back to join classes with us. He had such a ‘Pweeety’ Voice!” The two stallions cackled.
“Oh!” Eggshell snorted, his tail wagging in excitement. “I ‘member you! You was da Ali-cone Fwuffy dat kicked up a mess when she started calling you and Cacao all sorts of meanie names! She even hit sissy Atzi wit a teeny-tiny belt a-and gave her nose boo-boo juice!” Bowing his head to CoalHeart, Eggshell’s face became flush. “Tanks so, sooo much for protecting awl of us from dat meanie Sing-Song Awong Wady. And uhm… Eggshell sorry for cawwin’ you names wike ‘Caca Negwo bastardo’ a-an stuff wike dat.”
Aw man, you still on dat? Eggshell, Honey, you apologized so bad that day that you pissed and shit yourself with guilt!” The Alicorn sighed.
“Multiple times, actually.” Cacao chimed.
“Yeah, dats true. But hey!” CoalHeart pulled away from Cacao and put a hoof in Eggshells wavy brown mane. “You done grown a whooooole lot since the lil’ ignant foal you was back then. You’re a Stallion now- a Real Buckaroo. Don’t be too hard on yourself, and just try to be the best Fluffy you can be. Especially for all the little fluffies under your care.”
“Oh yeah, speaking of which!” Cacao interjected. “We gotta whole lotta dry rice and beans for Fluffy School, and I’mma let my litter stay in BrownsTown for dis final leg of the tour. CoalHeart, you down to help us out and cart some goods down to the woods for us? We got Tío Max and Tía Maria down at the Bodega to help!”
“Shidd, Say Wess!” CoalHeart cracked a smile. Whinnying and trotting over to the two men playing spades, CoalHeart gently clacked his hooves rhythmically against the pavement. “Hey Pop-Pop. Hey Bossman. I’mma be heading out wit my friends n’ play cousins to bring food to da Woods. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon. Dat al’wite?”
“That’s fine with me, baby.” The man wearing Bantu knots smiled fondly. “Davonte hun, that alright with you?”
“Hm?” The man with cornrows quirked his eyebrows. “Yeah, it’s alright Chinedu. Just tell our son not to hold back if anyone calls him out his name.”
“No problem, Bossman! You and Pops ain’t raise a pushover, I promise!” And with that, CoalHeart galloped away, racing past his friends.
“C’mon y’all! Rice can’t deliver itself!”
Sunrise.
The sweet, sticky balm of humidity and nectar tickled Ebony’s snout. The small filly had spent her night dreaming of a Brown filly and a tiny, black wingie-pointy mystery fluffy. When she woke up, it was much earlier than her siblings and even her mother. She gently crawled away from the pile, stretching out her legs and gently licking her mother’s mane. The mare snorted gently and peeped her right eye open, smiling faintly.
“Eb-knee gon’ go an eat breffis Mummah. Sweep well.” Ebony whispered.
“Kay. Wub you.”
“Wub you too.”
The coily-maned filly crept out of the crate and ever so gently pushed the creaky door of the shed open. When she emerged, Ebony was greeted by the shimmering Monarch butterflies resting atop the Wild milkweeds. She toddled over to one of her shady spots- a nice, huge slab of a rock covered in moss and wood sorrel trailing down onto the ground. As Ebony ripped a giant trail of wood sorrel off the rock and started to munch, her ears couldn’t help but perk at the distant sound of fluffies harmonizing. The chocolate-colored scruffy filly swallowed a huge lump of wood sorrel, and crept towards the sound; making sure to hide behind rocks and scamper behind the occasional branch. Once she got closer to the end of her enclave and closer to the road, she took shelter in a hollowed log and listened to the lilting tones.
“Poopy Fluffy am Born,
Poopy espléndida estoy Stomped,
La amapola se hace para comer caca.
Poopy Fluffy am Enfies,
Poopy Fluffy estoy meado,
¡Poopy Fluffy me dará para siempre Sleepies!
Buh Poopy am Turn to Dirt,
Y la suciedad se convierte en Compost,
Así que cuando Poopy muere,
Nuestras semillas deben sobrevivir,
Y más Poopies crecerán mañana.
Poopy, Poopy crece de la Dolor.
Poopy, Poopy crece para mañana.
¡Poopies of the World!
Nuestra única venganza
¡Es ver a nuestros bebés sonríe!”
“¡Otra vez! ¡Otra vez! En Engles!”
“Sí!”
“Say Wess!”
“Poopy Fluffy am Born,
Poopy fluffy am Stomped,
Poopy fluffy am made to eat poopies.
Poopy Fluffy am Enfies,
Poopy Fluffy am pee-peed,
Poopy Fluffy am gib forever Sleepies!
Buh Poopy am Turn to Dirt,
An’ Dirt am made intuh Compost,
So when Poopy Dies,
Our Seeds Must Survive,
An’ more Poopies will gwow Tomorrow.
Poopy, Poopy gwow from da Sorrow.
Poopy, Poopy gwow for Tomorrow.
Poopies o’ da’ World!
Our on-wee Wevenge,
Is to see our Babehs Smile!”
“Babehs… smile?” Ebony’s ears flicked. “Eb-knee wuv Babeh’s smile! Eb-knee wuvs Babehs!”
Before she had realized it, Ebony had hopped out of the hollowed log and directly into the viewpath of several fluffies pulling large carts. It wasn’t until she bumped into a familiar ecru blue fluffy that she came back down to Earth.
“Woah, Hola Eb-knee. Long time, no see, eh?” Eggshell grinned.
“Eggshell! Wow, good mor-neen! How aw you?” Peering around, Ebony gasped at the small flock of study, buff fluffies behind him. “Wooooah, yuh bwoght tons o’ fwiends, Eggshell!”
“Sholl did! A lotta dem are mah cousins an’ mah bruddah, and some eben mah patnas! Cacao, Cowl-Hart, c’mere!”
Ebony gasped in awe as Cacao and CoalHeart carted up right next to Eggshell, pulling the biggest makeshift cart out of the both of them. Ebony couldn’t help but be fascinated by the bells on Cacao’s fetlock scrunchies, and she couldn’t help but trot towards him to tickle the bells and giggle. Cacao giggled softly and bent down to sniff the top of her coils before giving her a welcoming lick and nuzzle. It was at this moment that Ebony looked up to look at CoalHeart and take him in; the shimmering black and lilac locs, his deep, dark fur, his well polished horn and his impressively wide wings. She gasped, which caused CoalHeart to nervously sidestep towards the dirt path, but Ebony’s overflowing excitement helped to put him at ease.
“Wooooahhh! Mummah told me, Weddy Wish, and YellaBone stowie ‘bout Fwuffy jus’ like you! Back when Mummah wive wit meanie herd. Dey pull ‘pwank’ and gib her wingie-pointy babeh an’ she WUBBED dat babeh.” Ebony took a huge gulp of air, regaining purchase. “Buh for sum ree-sun, dey got BIG MAD when Mummah lob ‘wingie-pointie’. An’ Mummah had to run faw, faw, way; up ‘till ‘notha big Wingie Pointie wit pwetty mane and coawl eyes done showed up an’ save Mummah an’ Bebeh.”
The forest became quiet once again; stillied with the silence of curious nickers and inquiring whinnies. CoalHeart couldn’t help but smirk fondly; the tension melting off his shoulders. Giving Ebony an encouraging snort, she took another large breath and continued.
“No am shure wat Meanie Herd make supah fuss about; nuh am Munsta’ Fwuffy. No way am Ugwie Fwuffy: you am dee mostest BOOTY-FULL Fwuffy Ebeah!” Ebony cheered. “‘Cept Mummah, am course.”
“Well, hello there… Ebony, right? My name is CoalHeart, and it’s such a big pleasure to meet lil’ ol’ you!” CoalHeart bowed graciously, making Ebony smile. “I’ll be honest; your mom does sound rather familiar. Could you tell me her name, please?
“Oh! Is Iman-knee,” Ebony glanced over her shoulder. “Mummah libe wit us in our housie ovah dere, wit me, Weddy, Yella, and Ob-siddy-yun! We am happy fam-wee. I’m shure she wike you.”
“Imani…” CoalHeart sighed. Lighting up his horn, he unbuckled his harness with delicate shimmering magic. “Hold on, y’all. Gimme just a minute?”
“I second that- let’s stop for a grazin’ break!” Cacao slid his harness off and beckoned his cousins to do the same.
As Ebony trotted them into the grove and led them to her shed, the door creaked open and the sounds of happy foals tinkled out from the opening. Sure enough, Imani and Ebony’s siblings were just trotting out for breakfast. As Ebony raced back to her mother and leapt into her forelegs, Imani looked up and smiled at Eggshell.
“Eggshell, you back! How lubley!” Imani smiled. “And you bwought fweinds? Henlo! How are yo-”
As CoalHeart gently weaved his way through the herd of fluffies, Imani’s speech faltered. She gently placed down Ebony, who had raced to her siblings in order to blather about her newfound friends. The elder chocolate covered mare gently walked up to the stunted stallion, who gave her a warm smile. CoalHeart was the first to close the distance, nuzzling his head into her neck and licking her back gently. Imani blinked through lidded eyes, and lolled her head into the crook of CoalHeart’s neck. When they finally pulled away, CoalHeart licked Imani’s snout smiled.
“Imani… Momma… It’s been awhile.”
“Coawl-Hart…”
Ebony, ReddyRich, YellaBone and even Obsy cooed with curiosity. Eggshell couldn’t help but smile, even if he couldn’t help it but feel a bit awkward. Cacao on the other hand, had a glazed, faraway look in his eyes. The mare and stallion felt invisible to the world around them, and the fruits of the pawpaw tree continued to dance in the gentle spring winds.
The rest of the Trek flew by faster than a kaleidoscope of butterflies.
Of course, the young fluffies insisted on following the gang back to BrownsTown. Of course, they couldn’t help but pester their newfound Alicorn friend with surprisingly pointed detail. CoalHeart dodged the questions effortlessly with as much finesse as a Monarch, but Cacao couldn’t help but notice that even the Alicorn was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. That was when Cacao trotted in to distract them with a few hoof-written ballads of his own.
Eggshell had taken it upon himself to guide his cousins to a giant, semi-rotting tree with a huge opening at the base of the roots. The old rice stores were gently dragged out; some would be planted for a cud supply nearby the shallow rivers and the rest would be cooked the same night. When they finished, they decided to chat and doze off near the roots of the giant stump, and the baby blue Fluffy’s mind ended up wandering once again…
“¿Cacharro de huevo, mi amor? ¿Qué pasa?” Acalan asked, trotting over to the opening in the floorboards.
[Eggshell, my love? What’s wrong?]
“Hnnnnnggg.”
“No whining, love. C’mon… face me like a man, okay?”
Eggshell tried to scurry his way out of the floorboards, but his fur ended up nicking against a splinter in the planks. Sighing heavily, Acalan gently grabbed his son by the scruff of his neck using his front teeth, the gentle pinch causing Eggshell to whimper. When he was set down, he couldn’t help but look into the pools that were his father’s eyes; sweet like caramel, yet currying heavy disappointment, even… shame? The wide wingspan of Acalan emerged, and he wrapped his right wing around his simpering son.
“Tu madre ya me contó lo que pasó, y sé que tú lo sabes. También sé que sabes que estamos decepcionados por ti, pero sobre todo. Te avergüenzas de ti mismo, y lo sabes.”
[Your mother already told me what happened, and I know that YOU know that. I also know that you know that we’re disappointed in you; but most of all? You’re ashamed of yourself, and you know that.]
“Sí, paw-páw. Pewo sé que Cacao está muy enojado conmigo … . ¿Vewdawd? ¿Me va a de-vo-wer las hewidas de pezuña?”
[Sí, papá. Pero sé que Cacao está muy enojado conmigo … . ¿Verdad? ¿Me va a devolver las heridas de pezuña?]
[Yes, Papa. But I know that Cacao is really mad at me… right? Is he gonna give me hoof hurties back?]
“Escúchame, hijo mío, cuando lastimas a alguien, especialmente a alguien que amas, no puedes huir y esconderte para siempre. La vergüenza es importante; nos dice que nuestra conciencia está funcionando. Pero cuando te aferras a esa vergüenza por demasiado tiempo, se convierte en un gran peso en tu espalda esponjosa.”
[Eggshell my son, listen to me: when you hurt someone, especially someone you love, you cannot run away and hide forever. Shame is important; it tells us that our conscious is working. But when you hold onto that shame for too long, it becomes a big weight on your little fluffy back.]
Taking a deep sigh, Eggshell turned to look at the far corner of the bar, where he saw Rosalie, Atzi, Tunas, and little runt Cacao all nursing and nestling under their mother. He looked back at his Father, who snorted authoritatively and got off of his haunches. With a nudge of his wing, he prompted the baby blue foal forward.
“Cacharro, derrama tu vergüenza y enfrenta a tu hermano. sabes exactamente lo que necesitas hacer.”
[Eggshell, shed your shame and face your brother. You know exactly what it is that you need to do.]
“Sí, paw-páw.”
Trotting over timidly, Eggshell approached the nesting pile and stood next to Cacao. Clearing his throat, he looked a sleepy-eyed Cacao in his eyes and bowed.
“Cacao, wo… ¡Wo sien-two!”
[Cacao, I’m… I’m sorry!]
The sock-hooved runt perked up his ears and slightly lifted his gaze, meeting his brother’s eyes. Then, with a smile and an excited whinny, Cacao gave Eggshell the largest lick in his entire short life. The two burst out into giant giggles, and spent the rest of that evening joyfully galloping and cuddling under the warm, medal-studded roof of their barn. Later that night, as Eggshell feel asleep, he couldn’t help but pull his brother closer and kiss him on the top of his coily mane.
“Cacao, vas a crecer y ser el mejor espumoso marrón de la historia.” He thought, before falling asleep.
[Cacao, you gonna grow up and be the best brown fluffy ever.]
Sunset fell, the moon rose, and nearly every fluffy had settled down for bed except for Eggshell. He was staring out over the pond, watching shoots of wheat stalks and Timothy grass drift in the warm nighttime wind. As he stared straight into the waning gibbous in the sky, he took a deep breath and let the weight of his past slip off his back. It was easy for him to ruminate on his past; over the regrets of his childhood; the worries of his past naïveté. But thinking about the success of his brother Cacao and his newfound nieces and nephews, he couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of pride and relief. The baby blue unicorn fluffy couldn’t help but show a grateful smile.
“Hey.” The sound of silver bells and a soft voice interrupted Eggshell from his thoughts.
“Cacao! Hi.” Eggshell waved his brother over.
“Whatcha’ doin’?”
“Moon watchin’. Jus’ tink-ing.” Eggshell wrapped his front leg around his brother’s shoulder. Then, without much thought: “Tanks for for-giben me.”
“What? Why?”
“I was am big, dummeh meanie fwuff to you when I was wittle. I cud-it stop tinking’bout you during my twip to our Tío and Tía bodega. You was awl-ways tawented fwuff, and I was supah jealous of you. Ah felt like you was Papa’s fav-wite, y’know? Not dat it wood-int be justy-fied. Cuz it wood!” The two fluffies burst out laughing. “But nawl, Papa luv us all, just luv different. Nevah gonna forget how you helped me pwant lemon-glass, an den you helped me make lemon-glass tea for Papa. Papa told yuh you had voice of an angewl, and I… I had ‘hoobes of heal-wing’.”
Eggshell sniffled, and Cacao wrapped his hooves around his brother gently. He then cleared his throat.
“Eggshell, of course I’ll always forgive you. I remember when Mr. nice mister got us into phonics classes and I was struggling with reading. Everyone underestimated you cuz’ your articulation wasn’t “hoomin-like” but you absolutely aced the reading comprehension course and got to a 6th grade reading level. Hell, without you tutoring me, I never would’ve gotten past the 3rd grade level! And that’s not even getting into all the extra ‘Talkie Training’ we did together!” Cacao grinned, wiping the tears out of his eyes with his crocheted fetlock cuff. “Either way, you’re the main reason I’m even half the fluff that I am today. And I’ll always thank you for that.”
“I jus’ worry ‘bout the fact dat if I evah kilt you on dat fateful day, dat I nevah woulda seen you gwow up to be success-ful. To be a Papa of your own, and for me to be a Tío. ‘Specially since I’m st-st-steril, y’know?” Eggshell chuckled.
“Heh, don’t worry man. Mis hijos son tus hijos, always!” Cacao grinned. “So, you ready to meet ‘em tomorrow?”
“Sure am, Hewmano. Sure am.”
End of: A Fluffy Narcocorrido Symphony.
Author’s Note: thanks for reading! As you probably noticed, some Fluffies have better enunciation than others; likely for a Variety of Reasons. I hope that you all enjoyed the story!
Thanks for Reading!
~PlayerTenji95
Link to Google Doc: Ebony the Fluffy Filly: 2. A Fluffy Narcocorrido Symphony - Google Docs