A tad on the late side, but yesterday was a bit hectic. Will post the fifth one sometime this evening.
Jake had been given a new foal to care for that day. Murray’s owner had left the yellow maned red unicorn in his care. According to her, he was a sweetie, well behaved and amiable. So far, he hadn’t exactly said much besides a half hearted “Gud bwite-time mistah Jake”, but Jake had paid it no mind. If what Miss Kay had said was true, he was probably only feeling shy.
"Alright class, we have a new student. Everyone, say hello to Murray!"
“Hewwo Muwway! Wew-cum tu da Dae-cawe!”
“Hewwo.”
"Now Murray, don’t be shy, we are all friends here! And, since we have a new friend, let’s start from the basics, okay?"
“Yeah…whatebah.”
The lesson was uneventful. It became clear that Murray indeed was well trained. He even knew his ABC. So, when lunchtime came about, Jake felt safe enough to fill the fluffies’ bowls, lock the baby gate behind him and head in the next room over to eat his Tuna sandwich.
Fluffies are known ravenous eaters, but sometimes, a few actually take the time to savor their food. Ada was one of them. Though regular kibble held little flavor, she was grateful for it. Having born a feral, food had always been scarce for little Ada. Her own mother couldn’t always scrounge up enough and of course, the bestest baby ate first.
Her sister looked like a miniature version of her caretaker, it was simply natural she’d be the favorite. Her brother had inherited his father’s nice cobalt fluff. While Ada herself had a nice pointy on her head, just like her sire, her color was so dull. She had just become a walkie-talkie babbeh when her brother had called her a “poopie babbeh”. Her mother had smacked him and forced the whimpering foal to apologize, but that event was still fresh in her mind.
So, Ada had only been halfway through her bowl, when she saw Murray approaching her.
“H…hewwo Muwway! Am 'ou otay?”
“Am gud. Bu’ stiww hab tummie hewties. Nee’ mo’ nummies. Pwetty fiwwy wan’ shawe wif Muwway?”
“Uh… bu’… Ada am hungwy tu’…”
“Mistah Jake say ‘ou am fwends. Bu’ 'ou nu shawe nummies wif Muwway. Dat nu wat fwends du.”
“Uhm… mebbeh Muwway ask tu Mistah Jake fo’ some mo’ kibbwe?”
“Nu. Poopie babbeh gib Muwway nummies. Nao.”
Ada was shocked. Her mind went back to her brother. This fluffy had called her a poopie too! But the other foals had told her she was pretty!
“A…Ada nu am poopie babbeh…”
She was practically whispering.
Murray smirked.
“If poopie babbeh nu wan shawe… mebbeh Muwway shud teww aww uddah fwuffies 'ou am a poopie babbeh…”
Ada froze up. She couldn’t let the others know. With tears forming in her eyes, she weakly pushed the bowl towards the red unicorn.
“M…Muwway can hab Ada’s nummies. Pwease, nu teww uddah fwuffies Ada am poopie babbeh. Pwease.”
“Mebbeh. Nao poopie babbeh gu’ ovah dewe. Gib Muwway wickie cweanies aftah Muwway dun’ wif nummies an’ gud poopies.”
Ears and tail drooping, Ada started slowly moving over to a corner near the litterbox. She hated Murray, she loathed being called a poopie baby. But deep down, a nagging doubt had started eating at her. What if he was right? What if the others turned on her upon discovering she was indeed a poopie? Her tears now flowing freely, she sat down, hooves covering her eyes, awaiting her tormentor.
While this exchange went on, a pair of green eyes shifted from the whimpering brown unicorn, to the red one.
Spike didn’t know what words had been exchanged, but it was painfully clear Ada was none too pleased about it. He was going to find out why.
Murray had been gobbling down the stolen kibble, when a shadow loomed over him. He got his muzzle out of the bowl, and saw that the big gray earthie he saw earlier was staring at him with cold eyes. Up until now, he hadn’t exactly realized how big he actually was. The red unicorn gulped when Spike sat down and started talking.
“Hewwo Muwway. 'Ou knu wai Ada hab saddies?”
“Uh… nu?”
“Otay. Den wai am ‘ou nummin’ Ada’s kibbwe?”
“Bee-cus Muwway am nyu Smawty.”
“Wut.”
“Muwway’s daddeh wuz a Smawty. Muwway wan be nyu Smawty at Dae-cawe an’ hab aww da nummies an’ toysies. Spike am big an’ tough. 'Ou hewp Muwway, 'ou can hab ebewyfing 'ou wan.”
“Spike wan knu wai Ada hab saddies.”
“Muwway teww Ada am poopie babbeh nao. Ada wissen tu Muwway, ow Muwway teww aww fwuffies Ada am poopie.”
The grey foal slowly stood up.
“Muwway wan knu sumfing funneh?”
“W…wut am dat?”
“Spike’s daddeh wuz Smawty tu’… Den, Spike say fwuffies fite. ‘Ou win, fwuffy am nyu toughie fo’ Smawty Muwway. 'Ou wose, Muwway am nyu poopie babbeh.”
The red foal started trembling. He had no chance to beat the larger, scarred fluffy. Earthies were already hardier than other fluffies, but this one…
Spike slowly got closer and closer, his face now mere inches from the unicorn’s. His green, malicious eyes gazed into Murray’s purple ones.
The red foal fell on his rump while trying to move backwards. He felt so tiny. So helpless. Was this how Ada had felt earlier? Had he looked this horrifying?
His tiny heart was about to jump out from his open, trembling mouth.
“'Ou make scawedie peepees. Smawty nu make scawedie peepees. Go say sowwie tu Ada, nao.”
Sure enough, a puddle of liquid had pooled on the smooth floor, right between the unicorn’s legs.
“Yu…yus. Mu…Muwway go nao.”
Still shaking like a leaf and with his face burning up from the embarassment, the red foal reached the litterbox. Ada still was hiding behind her hooves.
“P…Ada?”
“Y…yus?”
“Muwway am… Muwway am sowwie. Ada nu am poopie babbeh. 'Ou am pwetty fwuffy.”
Ada couldn’t believe her ears. The same foal who had been mistreating her a couple minutes earlier was… apologizing and saying she was pretty?
Her musings were interrupted by Jake, who had come back from his lunch.
"Ahem. Which one of you made bad peepees on the floor?"
Murray was shaking. How could he be the new smarty if he was going to be mocked for having made scaredie peepees and punished for bullying Ada?
“Spike du bad peepees.”
The red unicorn froze. Why was Spike taking the blame? He would be punished!
"Spike, that’s really bad. Why did you do it?"
“Spike am sowwie. Nu can make it tu da littahbox.”
"That’s a pity. But you know the rules. No playtime for you today. You’ll stay next to me while the others play."
“Otay Mistah Jake!”
As the human cleaned up the puddle with a towel, Murray noticed the gray foal was now staring at him, smiling warmly.
In that moment, the unicorn realized what Spike had just taught him. It’s not enough to be a Smarty’s son to be a good leader. You also need the courage to take action when your friends are threatened, even if you will get hurt yourself.