Dee Dee watched Jolene drive off in her wagon with Cayenne and her new can-foal.
“That one is going to be special. I know it.”, Dee Dee said aloud, to no one in particular.
“Right, back to business. Time to have a sit down with Jaime.”
Dee Dee made her way to the medical bay to have a discussion with Jaime, the good-smarty, about his new role at Little Miracles.
Sitting on a stool in front of the red-on-red stallion, she looked the fluffy and his family.
Jaime’s legs really were messed up. Jolene had wrecked him pretty good with her overhand toss off her property; his leg bones were definitely crooked.
Nikki pulled up another stool and sat with Dee Dee. Dee Dee cleared her throat to get Jaime’s attention.
“Hewwo wady! Wut can Jaime do fow nice wady?”
“Well, first you can just call me Dee Dee. You don’t need to be formal. You work for me now.”
“Otay Deh Deh! Deh Deh hab nice namsies! Vewy pwetty!”
“Well, are you a flatterer”, Dee Dee replied, smiling at Jaime.
“Am twue! Dee Dee hab pwetty namsies, and Dee Dee am nicest wady! Gib Jaime homsies! Gib Jaime… puwpose!”
Dee Dee looked at Nikki, one eyebrow arched. “You weren’t kidding.”
Nikki just smirked in response.
Dee Dee reached out to pet Jaime, and the good-smarty snuggled up to her touch.
“Right. Jaime. Let’s talk about the specific work I’d like you to do. Your first task will be learning everything about being a good fluffy. The good news is you will get to watch a LOT of TV with your family. The bad news is because you are smart, you might not enjoy it.”
“Jaime wiww do what Jaime am asked!”
“That, my friend, is a good attitude to have.”
Jaime’s eyes brightened at the words ‘my friend’, but he didn’t start babbling. Instead, he waited for Dee Dee to continue.
“So, yeah. You and your herd will watch lots of TV to learn about being good fluffies. I’d like you to help your herd with anything they don’t understand. I’d like you to coach them and help them. If they do good, praise them. If they do wrong, scold them. But don’t hurt them. You can just tell them they are being a bad fluffy, and then explain how to be a good fluffy. Your herd is very loyal to you, and I don’t think they’ll want to disappoint you. And besides, if they are good fluffies, they will get adopted sooner!”
“Su Jaime wiww wead hewd, an’ if hewd gud fwuffies, get new homsies. Jaime can du dat.”
“Glad to hear it. Now, if you can teach your herd, then we’ll start working on other herds. New herds come in all the time. You’ve lived their life. You’ve been out in the world. I think you’ll be able to empathize with them.”
“Dee Dee, what am em-pa-tize?”
“Sorry, that’s probably outside your… That’s a big word for a fluffy. Empathize means that you understand them. You know what kind of heart hurties they feel, you know what it’s like to be in the cold and the dark. If you can empathize, or show empathy, it means that they will be more likely to listen to you. They know that you know how they really feel.”
“Jaime wiww gib… em-pa-ty. Jaime nu wan’ fwuffies hab wowsted heawt huwties. Wan’ fwuffies be gud fwuffies su can hab nuw homsies!”
“Exactly! You get it!”, Dee Dee said, with more excitement than she realized she was feeling.
“Now, you will have help. I think Paprika will want to teach mares how to be good mommas. And Mustard will want to teach stallions how to be good daddies. So you won’t be alone.”
“Dat am gud. Weading hewd am hawd wowk! Bu’ hab wawm pwace, safe pwace. Nu scawies hewe.”
Dee Dee looked at Nikki. Nikki nodded.
“Jaime, I’m going to be honest with you. Everybody here loves fluffies. But there are some very bad fluffies in the world. If you meet a bad fluffy that you don’t think you can help, then I want you to tell me, or Nikki, or any of the humans here. Bad fluffies will hurt other fluffies. I… I want to show you something. May I carry you?”
“Suwe! Jaime wub gud upsies! Wait hewe famiwy! Jaime gu wif Dee Dee!”
Dee Dee picked up the red smarty and cradled him in her arms.
“Man, your legs really are messed up. Nikki thinks she can fix them, though.”
“That’s right! As I told Dee Dee, you won’t like the process, but I promise that I can make them better!”
“Jaime wud wike if weggies wowkies 'gain…”
“We’ll deal with that soon. I promise!” Nikki told him excitedly.
Dee Dee carried Jaime to the milking room.
“Jaime, this is going to be a scary place. We call this the milking room. This is where we put bad mummahs.”
Dee Dee punched the code in to the door lock, and after the customary click, turned the handle and strode in.
“Su many mawes!”, Jaime whispered.
“Yes…”
“Whewe am weggies?”
“We had to take them away, Jaime. These were bad mummahs who gave their babies sorry hoovsies.”
Jaime looked aghast at the idea of hurting a baby. Babies were good! The only babies that should ever get hoovsies were babies who had the worstest owwies.
“Mummah huwt gud babbehs? Hewd… hewd hab gib babbehs sowwy hoovsies sum time. Sum babbehs hab bad owwies when dey come out… Babbehs hab wowstest huwties… nu wan’ babbehs hab huwties nu mowe…”, Jaime said.
“These mommas hurt, or tried to hurt healthy babies. Good babies. That you feel bad that you had to… take away the pain from sick babies shows that you are a better fluffy than any fluffy in this room. They hated their babies for being brown, or having a horn and wings. Or for just not looking like them.”
“Dem aww bad mummahs! Bu’ why am hewe? Wut mummahs do?”
“Well, because they were mummahs, they could make milk. We give them special kibble that lets them keep making milk, even when they don’t have babies. You see the tubes connected to them? That takes the milk away. We use that milk the feed babies that come here without mommas.”
“Su… bad mummahs am punished by making miwkies and hewping babbehs.”
“That’s right.”
“Jaime unna’stand. Nu wan’ bad mummahs gib fowebbah sweepies tu gud babbehs. Babbehs awe fow wub and huggies.”
“Do you understand why I am showing you this place?”
“Jaime unna’stand. Dee Dee wan’ gib gud fwuffies gud homsies. Dee Dee wub fluffies. Bu’ sum fwuffies am bad fwuffies. Dee Dee nuw wan’ gib fowebbah sweepies. Dee Dee wan’ bad fwuffies be gud, eben if bad fwuffies stiww bad fwuffies.”
Nikki was grinning ear to ear. She scratched Jaime’s upturned belly. “You, little man, are very clever. You got it exactly.”
“Hewd unna’stand aww babbehs am gud babbehs. Bu’ udda hewds mabbe nu unna’stand. Wiww teww udda hewds dey mus’ wub aww babbehs, too.”
“An’… Jaime unna’stand Dee Dee wub fwuffies, bu nu can hewp aww fwuffies. Jaime wiww twy an’ hewp aww fwuffies. Bu’ Jaime wiww nu wet any fwuffy huwt udda fwuffies!”
Dee Dee smiled at the smarty in her arms. “I think you are going to be a big help here, Jaime.”
Dee Dee carried Jaime back to his family. He had a lot of thinking to do. This place was safe, and warm, and would provide food. Dee Dee was a nice lady, but he understood that some times she had to be a not-nice lady. He thought about Jolene, and about how she’d hurt his leggies when he was a bad fluffy. But how she’d leave food for them when they weren’t bad fluffies. How he’d felt himself change as his herd cared for him, and helped him as his leggies healed. How they told him, and how he saw Jolene with her fluffy friends. They were good fluffies, and they got nummies, and warmsies, and hugs, and love. He wanted that. He wanted it for his herd, his family, and himself.
He thought out how just one bright-time before, he’d swallowed his pride, and begged Jolene for help. He… apologized. That was something he’d never thought about doing when he was just a smarty. He was in charge, and he did what he had to for his herd. He cared about his herd. He felt guilt when he had to put down the sick babies. He felt bad when a member would get hurt or lost, or die.
He rested against his mare… No. She has a name now, too. She’s Joanna! Just being a good fluffy, saying sorry. Meaning it. Asking for help, and not demanding. Those simple things had turned his entire life around. Jaime was going to do his best to ensure every fluffy had the chance for happiness that he’d gotten.
