Chapter 9:
No Smarties.
No Bestests.
No Enfing.
No Fighting.
The sign outside the park read thusly. You decided to use this as a moment to see how good of a teacher you were. “My fluffies, can you read that sign?” you ask.
They look at it, squinting. You can see Mochi is particularly struggling with it.
Chocolate’s not doing much better.
“No……Fighting.” He manages, sounding out the word.
“Good lad.” You say, patting him on the head.
“No……Smawties.” Mochi manages, unsure what that means. You nod. “Alright, 2 out of 4.”
“No Bestests, No……Enfing?” Neapolitan says. “What am Enfing?”
Hazel glares at you. “Daddeh, why you make babbehs wead dis?”
You flinch. “Sorry, didn’t think that through. Anyways, don’t worry what that is, Neo. You don’t need to know that for a long time.” You tell her. “But you can all read. Kind of. Anyways, park time!”
Walking into the park, you see dozens of humans and fluffies of all types and colors running about. Some humans are just sitting idly, watching their pets, others are actively walking or playing with the joyful pig-horses. “Wook daddeh, Chiwpie babbehs!” Mochi yelled, pointing to a pair of fluffies tending to their young.
“Hewwo Chiwpie Babbehs!” she shouted, waving at them. They waved back “Hewwo White Babbeh!” You looked at them. They seemed friendly enough, an orange mare and a black stallion. “Let’s go see them, okay?” you say, steering Hazel to them. She practically pulls the leash from your hand as you walk to them.
“Mind if we sit?” You ask the man watching them. “Yours seem friendly, so go ahead.” he says, warily. He’s clearly aware fluffies can be aggressive.
Hazel is all smiles, setting down and letting the foals off her back, wagging her tail happily. “Hewwo Fwuffies. Namsies am Hazew, Chocowate, Mochi, and Neapowitan!” she said, pointing to each of her babies as she named them.
The stallion spoke “Am Soot!” He said, the horn on top of his head catching your eye. He was frankly magnificent, pitch black and looking like he was made of living shadow, only his eyes and teeth standing out.
“Your male is something else, guy.” you say. “Isn’t he? Would you believe he was rejected as a chirpy?” he asks, smiling. You stare in shock. “No way. That fluffy? He looks like he’s made of Vantablack, he’s gorgeous!”
The man nodded “Yeah, he is, but he mom was scared of him because he was “Dawk” and “Dawk am bad fo’ fwuffies. Name’s Mike, by the way.” He says, extending a hand. “Theo.”
“Namsie am Pumpkin! Hewwo witteh Tawkies! You dere mummah?” she asks Hazel.
Your fluffy swells with pride. “Yus! Dese am Hazew’s pwetty babbehs! Am gud babbehs!” She says.
Pumpkin smiles. “Dey am pwetty babbehs. Wook at Pumpkin’s pwetty babbehs!” She says, drawing her tail back gently. There’s a beautiful blue Pegasus, a Black and orange striped baby with what looked like a horn, a shiny silver pegasus, and a forest green and black earthy.
Mike pointed to the litter of chirpies. “Ain’t they the cutest things? Just had them night before last. It was a difficult delivery, thought we lost that little silver one there, but she pulled through and look at her now.” He said, as the baby cheeped and pipped forcefully. “That black and orange one….we got lucky with that one, a real blessing there. He’s got black and orange….AND he’s an Alicorn, just like his dad!”
You freeze.
Fuck.
“Oooooh no….” You mutter. Mike looks at you oddly. “What’s wrong? They scared of them?” He asks, defensively. “Uh……well….I don’t actually know.” You say, smiling nervously. “They’re adoptees.”
Mike very carefully, calmly asked Pumpkin for the baby. “Shhh, shh….you’re okay little one.” He said gently as it wiggled on his palm. “It’s okay, big daddy has ya.”
Soot looked at you oddly. “Why Theo sweatin?” He asked. “You am nervous?”
“….Yeah, actually….” You say.
Hazel looks at you and frowns. “Daddeh, why you scawed? Am just Wingie-Pointy.” she says.
“….”
Mike stares. “That’s new.”
“……What?”
“Soot am Wingie-Pointy fwiend, wike Hazew’s mummah and daddeh! Wingie-Pointy nu am munstah, daddeh, dun need be scawed of him.”
Mike is cackling with laughter and hands the baby back to Pumpkin. “Oh, and I thought this could be a problem. Why were you so spooked, dude? You should know her parents if you adopted her, right?”
“Well about that, I adopted her from the woods, Mike,”
He looks at you and blinks. “You adopted FERALS? And……they’re not shitting on you 24/7?”
“There were a few accidents, but they’re good fluffies.” You say. Mochi hugs the blue baby “Wingie-Fwiend!” she says, gently cuddling the Chripie, which is buzzing it’s wings gently, clearly enjoying the cuddles. “Dun cuddle too much, Mochi, Chiwpies am fwagiwe.” Hazel says, going back to chattering with Pumpkin about the joys of motherhood.
Soot looks at Chocolate. “Am Stawwion?” He asks. Chocolate looks up, admiringly. “Am!” He answers. Soot seems to be taking his measure a bit “Wan wace?”
Your only colt looks at you. “Go on, you can play with him, that’s why you’re here, to make friends.”
Soot and Chocolate take off to the tree Soot points out as the “winning spot.”
He’s clearly not trying to win, and tells Chocolate how he’s “just too fast.”
Neapolitan giggles, and snuggles the baby Alicorn. “Wingie-Pointy Fwiend!” She says. The baby chirps and snuggles her back. “Neapowitan wubs babbehs. Can Neapowitan pway baww with babbeh?”
Pumpkin shakes her head, sadly. “No, babbehs am too wittew for baww. Can pway baww when dey biggew.” She says.
She picks up two of the foals and places them to nurse, watching them knead with their tiny hooves.
Mochi begins to dance. “Mochi am making miwkie dance!” She says.
Soot returns, tailing Chocolate at a slow trot. He clearly threw the race. “See, Chocowate, you am stwong stawwion!” He says, giving you a look and nodding.
The book had said the Winged Unicorns were intelligent, but this was something else. He had deliberately tried to build your young colt’s confidence up. He walked to you, and sat down. You pet his neck, and he leans his head close.
“Soot noticed no speciaw fwiend for Hazew. Must be hawd for Chocowate to not have fwuffy-daddeh. He am gud fwuffy, wiww be stwong someday. You do gud.” he said, getting up and walking back to his mate, nuzzling her.
Your jaw just about drops. That was new. You’ve just received parenting compliments from a genetic chimera pig-horse thing with wings and a horn.
Neapolitan gets up and begins to huggy-tag Mochi, the two of them playing. Chocolate waddles up to you. “Daddeh! Did you see! Am so fast! Am stwong Stawwion wike Soot!” He says. You pick up him. “I did! You’re so fast! I bet even Momma couldn’t catch you! You’re a strong stallion, Chocolate! Daddy’s so proud of you!” You tell him, petting him. He’s sweaty and shaking a bit, clearly having exerted himself.
Hazel is beaming, finally having a fellow mummah to talk to.
“An when dey gets teefies coming, de cwy wots and wots, but mummah songs and extwa huggies and daddeh’s hooman magic make dem sweepies good and feew bettew!” She says, recounting every part of the growth of her foals.
Mike looks over at you, and fishes out a business card. “I’m a breeder by trade. If you ever wanna breed that mare again, or pair up the others when they’re full grown, give me a call and we’re talk.” he says.
“I appreciate that. But…I doubt Hazel would be up for that.”
“Why?”
“She had a mate, and he was killed, or taken away. “
Mike frowned “Ugh. That’s awful, poor girl.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, don’t worry about it, Theo. You seem to be doing just fine with them.”
You sit for hours, watching the foals play with each other and cuddle the Chirpies, or talk to Soot and Pumpkin. Eventually, your foals grow tired, and climb back onto Hazel, sleeping. Mochi is snoozing on your lap, looking for all the world like an animated cloud. The sun has grown red in the sky.
“Time for us to get going home. Pleasure meeting you Mike, Soot, Pumpkin.”
Soot puts out a hoof, and holds it there intently until you shake it.
This day has been surreal.