“Are you ready Dorothy?”
“Am weadies!” The little mare sat politely for her surprise. Though it wasn’t much of a surprise anymore really. She knew exactly what Daddeh was holding behind his back. It didn’t mean she was any less excited.
After every litter she had Daddeh made her the most special gift when her last foal, always her Bestest Babbeh, was adopted into their new forever family. Saying goodbye to her babbehs alway gave Dorothy the worstest heart hurties but Daddeh knew exactly what to do to help her feel better.
“Aaaaaalright…” Daddeh dragged out word to add to the suspense until Dorothy was just about vibrating with anticipation. He waited until the last second, just before Dorothy was about to break from her sit, to present her with the object he had hidden behind his back.
Dorothy couldn’t help but to tear up as she saw it. Him.
“Daddeh! Daddeh! Tankies suuuuuu muchies!” Dorothy sniffled back tears as she gently took the stuffy babbeh from Daddeh. It looked just like her Bestest. She cradled it to her chest fluff and buried her snout into the doll’s soft baby mane. She breathed in deeply. At first all she smelled was Daddeh’s yucky work smell but there, underneath the scent of cotton and chemicals, was the barest trace of her Bestest. Dorothy didn’t know how Daddeh managed to capture his scent but somehow he always got it just right.
Daddeh let her cradle her new Bestest stuffy babbeh for a few more minutes in silence before he cleared his throat. “I’m so happy you like it. Why don’t you go put it with the others? You don’t want to wear it out too fast now, right?”
Dorothy knew Daddeh was right. Unlike the stuffy friends she normally played with the ones her Daddeh made for her were special. They were delicate. She had learned the hard way with the first one he made her and played too roughly with it until it broke. She had been inconsolable but thankfully Daddeh knew just how to fix it like new. Dorothy had learned her lesson though. Still, it was hard to bring herself to let it go. It was just like her Bestest after all.
“Dorothy. Sugarplum.” Daddeh’s words were sweet but his tone conveyed a warning.
Dorothy gave the doll one last hug before handing it back to Daddeh. She then trotted after him as he walked over to the special shelf in her safe room that held all her special stuffy friends.
“Aaaaand there.” Daddeh stepped back to look at his handy work.
Dorothy was hot on his heels and had to crane her head back to look up at the collection of her Bestests. All of them. One from each litter she had. Looking up at them all made her feel a little sad.
Daddeh planted his hands on his hips and tilted his head to give Dorothy a sideways glance. He smiled at her. “How about we go schedule another play date for you with a new special friend?”
Just like that Dorothy’s melancholy was forgotten. Babbehs were simply the bestest thing ever! She pranced around her safe room with glee. “Babbehs! Babbehs! Babbehs!”
With his fluffy sufficiently distracted Daddeh looked back at the shelf with a critical eye. His stitch work was getting better despite how notoriously delicate foal skin tended to be. Practice made perfect and with how quickly fluffies reproduced he was going to have another chance to test his skills in no time at all.