[This has been a long time coming and I’m sorry it took so long, I never expecting to need a break but life is unexpected, right? Thank you to anyone that reached out to me while I was gone(-ish) and thank you to anyone coming to read the series, I hope you enjoy it.]
The day hadn’t quite gone according to plan but Eren hoped that the interaction would have the desired effect. Figuring he could talk to Bucky and Lillian during dinner, Eren decided to head out back first.
Taking a seat on the patio, he calls out to the colts, “Jasper, come on over here.”
Seemingly deep in thought, Jasper breaks away from the others and strolls over to Eren. Holding his arms up, he asks, “Daddeh gib Jaspeh upsies?”
Scooping the red unicorn into his lap, Eren scratches him behind his ear eliciting a soft coo from the fluffy. “I know it’s been a long, rough day for you. Do you want to talk about it?”
Jasper stays silent a moment as he stops cooing but continues to lean into the pettings. Finally, he looks up to Eren with a look of contemplation, “Jaspeh wan tawk but nu knu hao feew.”
Lightly stroking the colt’s mane, Eren says, “Take your time, I’ll help where I can.”
Speaking softly, “Weww, nu knu wai fwuffy nu wan wuv and am onwy fow meanies. Bweezie am nicest fwuffy Jaspeh knu and when twy maek nyu fwiend meanie Joo gib sowwie hooves and gib su many heawt-huwties.”
Thinking a moment on how to respond, Eren says, “Joo is what happens when a smartie stops trying to be a good fluffy. She thinks she is smarter than everyone else so she can’t be convinced otherwise. The only thing that matters to her is herself and she doesn’t know how to be happy anymore, so she believes that since Breeze is missing an eye and has injured wings that he doesn’t deserve to be happy.”
“Dat am wong and dat…dat am saddies. But Jaspeh nu finkies wike dat, nu wan otheh fwuffies tu nu be happies.”
Raising a brow as he says, “Oh, is that so? What about what you did to Bucky at the shelter? What about what you made Slater do to him in the saferoom?”
Jasper goes wide-eyed at the revelation, staring off silently for nearly a minute. “Jaspeh nu mean tu…but Jaspeh did du…” Turning his gaze up to Eren again but hangs his head as he speaks, “Jaspeh am bad fwuffy, wike Joo. Jasper nu desewbe hewd…nu desewbe wuv…”
Hooking a finger under Jasper’s chin and gently lifting his gaze, Eren says, “Hey, none of that. Sure, you made a mistake but you are trying to learn and change to be better. What happened when Joo attacked Breeze? You jumped in to defend him and you didn’t try to attack or hurt her, you tried to reason with her. That is what a good smartie-friend does.”
Sniffling slightly, “But nu wowk. Joo stiww gib heawt-hurties and sowwie poopies. Joo make Jaspeh feew smaww again.”
Eren nods, switching to pet Jasper with his bandaged forearm, “Well, sure it didn’t work this time, but that isn’t because of you, it was because Joo was beyond help. That is a key difference between you and her, you will have the opportunity to take a different path. That is why I’m trying so hard to make sure you are learning.”
“Fank yu fow hewp Jaspeh weawn tu be gud smawtie-fwiend, nu wan be smawtie…” Jasper says before taking notice of the arm for the first time, “Daddeh hab huwties? Jasper gib huggies tu hewp maek betteh.” Jasper said as he wrapped Eren’s arm in a hug.
Offering a soft smile with a gleam in his eye, Eren says, “Thank you, Jasper. I’m sure it will heal faster now. I can tell you that mean smarties wouldn’t care if their daddy was hurt or give hugs to help.”
After several seconds, Jasper pulls out of the hug and looks back to Eren with an uneasy expression, “Jaspeh hab kweschn…Wai du Jaspeh hab smaww hown-pointie? Joo sai it am wike wittwe foaw hown-pointie.”
Pondering to himself a moment, Eren finally responds, “Well, it could be for a number of reasons. People have features that are all different shapes and sizes and the same is true for fluffies. Besides, it isn’t the size of a fluffy’s horn that makes them a good or bad fluffy and just because your horn is a different size doesn’t make it better or worse than any other horn. I’m sure there are things you can do with it that other unicorns can’t. ”
“Daddeh weawwy fink su?” Jasper beamed up at Eren, taking comfort in the words.
Confirming with a nod, “Indeed, I do. Now, I also want to know if you learned anything about last night with the spaghetti.”
Looking down in shame, “Jaspeh am dummeh fow nu shawin. Jaspeh maek Bweezie and Swateh big saddies and maddies. Nu wet Jaspeh be in fwuffpiwe.”
Patting the red colt on the head, “That is a good assessment, you made a selfish choice and felt the consequences. The other thing I wanted you to learn was that picking spaghetti may have been the wrong choice since you could have used your points for things the herd might want or need, the herd doesn’t have much yet after all.”
Looking off in the distance, Jasper puffs out his cheeks at nothing in particular before letting out his breath, “Jaspeh undehstan, am du betteh nex time.”
“Well then, we’ll see, won’t we? I’m going to give Breeze and Slater one point each for what they went through today. I’m also going to give you five points for doing well with the lesson today and what you learned from yesterday, especially since you didn’t take it out on them and apologized to them on your own. Do you want to use any of your points?” Eren offered.
Thinking hard for a moment, Jasper responds, “Sketti am tu pointies, wight?”
Narrowing his eyes at the unicorn, “Yes, spaghetti is two points. You want to use your points on some tonight?”
Shaking his head, “Jaspeh nu wan sketti, wan gib Bweezie and Swateh each a Jaspeh pointie.”
Softening his gaze, Eren says, “Oh, you want them each to have enough to get some if they want it. That’s thoughtful, I’m proud of you. Is that all you want to do with your points?”
Leaning back on his haunches, “Nu, Jaspeh wan ged bwankie fow fwuffpiwe. Wan ged toysies fow hewd tu.”
Chuckling softly, Eren says “Well then, sounds like good choices but with only three points you can get the blanket and one toy of your choice.”
Tapping a hoof on his chin in a pose of deep thought, Jasper says, “Jaspeh weawwy wikes bwockies but knu Bweezie wikes baww. Wan ged baww fow hewd dis time.”
Placing Jasper on the ground, “Alright then, I’ll get that for you when I finish talking to the others. You can go back to playing if you want but tell Breeze to come over next.”
Watching Jasper run off to the others, Eren smiles and thinks to himself, “I’m surprised and pleased with his progress so far, maybe I did make the right choice with this.”
As Jasper approaches the pair playing around their little house he yells, “Bweezie! Daddeh wan talkie tu yu nex!”
The two quickly embrace in a hug before the dark blue colt rushes over to Eren, bouncing excitedly once reaching his destination, “Daddeh, daddeh, Bweezie am happies tu see yu! Upsies?”
Eren reaches down to scoop up the colt in the upsie pose, placing Breeze on his lap. “So how are you healing up? Are you feeling ok?”
Nodding fervently, wings wiggling ever so slightly in delight, “Bweezie am onwy hab wittwe huwties nao, can eben mobe wingies again.”
As Eren gently touched the healed burn spots, Breeze winced only when two of the largest were touched, “Well, it looks like you’ll be all healed up in just a few more days.” Eren gently stroked the blue colt’s sheek causing Breeze to let out a soft coo as he leaned into Eren’s hand.
Using a finger to rub under the colt’s chin, Eren says, “Alright, brave face. I need to ask a couple questions and I just want you to answer me honestly. Firstly, what are your thoughts about today while Joo was here?”
Breeze gives a brief show of puffing out his cheeks before saying, “Joo am wowstest meanie, gib Bweezie biggest heawt-huwties and gib sowwy hoovies. Bweezie jus wan be nyu fwiend and pway.”
Sadness falling across his face, Breeze adds, “Why Joo sai meanie fings tu Bweezie? Why fink Bweezie am dummeh?”
Sighing heavily, Eren says, “Well, Joo is a smartie, a very bad one at that. She doesn’t know how to be happy herself so she wants to make sure no one else is either. There are humans like that too. They both feel the need to put others down, calling them names and bullying them, to make themselves feel better.”
Scratching the top of Breeze’s head, “They look for any insecurities…hmm…anything that might be considered not normal or an injury, then use that to make others feel bad.”
Breeze flatly says, “Dat’s jus meanie…and am sad. Am aww smarties wike dat? …Am bwutheh gunneh be wike dat tu?”
“Well, if he didn’t start doing the smartie-friend training when he did, possibly. He was headed in that direction and, even now, it is still possible he might end up a bad smartie. There is no guarantee it will work, unfortunately, but so far he is doing well and seems to be learning from any of the mistakes he has made.”, Eren said bluntly.
Opting to lay down in Eren’s lap, Breeze says, “Nu wan Jaspeh tu be meanie, nu wan Jaspeh tu gu foweveh sweepies…Bweezie am scawdies.”
Giving a gentle scratch between the colt’s healing wings, “Me too buddy, me too.”
“Daddeh, how Bweezie hewp Jaspeh be gud smawtie-fwiend?”, Breeze asked.
Eren responds back, “Well, just try to be a good fluffy. You want both what is best for your brother and are quick to make friends, that can go a long way when having a good herd…Breeze, do you want to be in the herd I’m letting Jasper have?”
Breeze closes his eyes, as if deep in thought, “Bweezie wike tu be in hewd, wan wots of fwiends but onwy if Jaspeh am gud smawtie-fwiend…and if daddeh wiww stiww be daddeh.”
Caught by surprise, Eren takes a moment to say, “What? Of course. I’m your daddy no matter which you choose. If it helps, think of it like this…this is my herd, Jasper will just make sure everything runs smoothly. That means you can come to me for anything, any time you are concerned. You all are my family now, afterall.”
“Wub yu, Daddeh” Breeze said as he gave Eren as big of a hug as he could manage for a full minute.
“Love you too, Breeze. Now, because of today and how well you’ve been doing I want to give you a point, like the ones I give Jasper, and Jasper is giving you one of the one’s he earned too, so you have two.” Eren says to the small pegasus.
Gasping, Breeze says, “Bwuddeh du dat fow Bweezie? Dat am enough fow sketties, wight?”
Nodding firmly, “That’s right. Is that what you are wanting to use your points for?”
Wiggling happily in Eren’s lap, Breeze responds, “Yus, Bweezie wan sum ob Daddeh’s tastiest sketties.”
“I’ll make sure to make some for you tonight after I talk to everyone. Can you send Slater over here next?” Eren asks, before letting the fluffy down so he can run over to Jasper and Slater.
At Eren’s request, Slater comes trundling over shortly afterward and after being lifted into Eren’s lap, the chubby, grey fluffy cuddles in and coos happily at the attention, bringing a smile to Eren’s face.
Without being prompted, Slater looks up and says, “Fank yu fow gibing wuv and huggies, Swateh need dem.”
“Anytime little man, I needed some as well so thank you too.” Eren responds before letting out a sigh, “But I need to ask you about what happened today.”
Huffing a bit as he snuggles in harder, Slater says, “Swateh nu wan tu hab thinkies bout it. Joo was tuu meanie and huwt hewd-fwiends.” Sniffling loudly as he lets out a soft “huu”, “Swateh nu cume tu hewp hewd wike gud tuffie shouwd. Feew wike wowsest fwuffy ebeh.”
Eren gently strokes the slate grey fluffy’s short mane, “It’s ok to be scared. Joo was a very bad fluffy, but I needed you all to meet someone like her because I don’t want any of you to end up like her. I know Jasper told you to do bad things but remember, a good toughie is still supposed to be a good fluffy too. That means telling your friends no even if they want you to do bad things for them.”
“Swateh knu, Swateh am gun twy tu be betteh fwuffy and betteh tuffie. Wan du betteh fow smawtie-fwiend Jaspeh.”
Eren responds, “Well, overall, I’m still happy with you so I wanted to give you a point to use for stuff you want, and I know Jasper is happy too because he wanted me to give you one of his points too.”
Slater, perking up, “Weawwy? Swateh ged sketti points?”
Chuckling softly, Eren says, “Well, yes, you can use it for that but you…”
Singing off key as he wiggle and dances in Eren’s lap, the grey colt interrupts, “Swateh ged sketties, num dem aww up, num aww da sketti fow gwow big and stwong!”
Eren shakes his head with a smile, setting Slater gently on the ground, “Okay, okay, I’ll make some spaghetti tonight.”
Eren makes his way back inside tossing a light, plastic orange ball to the three excited colts before going to start dinner.
The rest of the night went fairly uneventful, Eren taking the time to talk to Bucky and Lillian while cooking. He was unsurprised by their thoughts on Joo and smarties in general, considering their interaction with Jasper but only seeing Joo from a distance. Bucky and Lillian got some spaghetti sauce mixed in with their oats and veggies, to which they were thankful for the tasty addition.
Eren carried the two bowls of homemade spaghetti out for Slater and Breeze to enjoy, both happily dancing in place for the bowls to be placed down. All the while, Jasper sat by the bowl of kibble. While the look of sadness of missing out on Jasper’s face was easy to read by Eren, he could also tell that the smartie-friend was accepting of the decisions made.
As the two other colts dove into their bowls, Eren reached back inside to grab a third bowl.
Jasper barely noticed as Eren placed the bowl down next to the red colt, “I figured since you had a rough day and you made some very good choices I would reward you too.”
Jasper glanced over hopefully but deflated, ever so slightly, that the bowl only had grains and vegetable leftovers as Eren continued, “I know it isn’t the spaghetti you were hoping for, but I’m sure you will still enjoy it more than the kibble.”
“Fank you, Daddeh. Jaspeh a-pwe-she-ates the nummies.” the colt said, causing Eren to chuckle as he fluffy took a couple bites.
Cocking his head to the side as he licks his lips, Jasper looks up to his owner as Eren adds in, “Some of the veggies might have had some sauce spilled on them…this time.”
As Eren gets up to head back inside he notices Breeze and Slater taking turns carrying a bowl over to Jasper. From what he could tell there were only a couple bites of spaghetti left in it but the look of both shock and happiness on Jasper’s face as it was offered to him by them would have made anyone think the bowl was overflowing with the italian treat.
The night was nearly over and everything that needed to be cleaned up was. Eren was cuddled up to Bucky and Lillian on the couch as he read a few articles on his phone when Bucky excused himself to go to the litterbox.
As Bucky left the room, Eren looked down at Lillian who seemed to be shifting around uncomfortably and asked, “Is everything ok? Do I need to bring you to the litterbox as well?”
Shaking he har, “Nu, Wiwwian wan tu ask daddeh question.”
Curiously responding, “Okay, ask away.”
Lillian, speaking candidly, causing Eren’s face to drop “Can Wiwwian and Bucky be speciah-fwiends?”
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[Sorry if there is any confusing parts. Part of this was written months ago and parts were written the past few days. I didn’t want to spend too much time on redoing the older parts because I had a goal of getting this out before my birthday (success) and wanted to really get the story moving and start the next part. I hope that is understandable and I’m happy to help clear up any confusing parts.]