Into the Rockies
Chapter 4
Jacob stepped toward the back of the shed with his rifle at the ready. He kicked the back of the shed in hopes of scaring the possums out. That was when he heard something strange; animal sounds he had never heard before. It almost sounded like… kittens mixed with baby birds?
It definitely wasn’t possums. Skunks maybe? Jacob took a step back and swallowed hard.
Oh lord please don’t let it be skunks! he thought to himself.
He decided to think for a moment, going over the options in his head…
1.) He could shoot blindly under the shed in hopes of killing whatever was down there. It might work, but it could also damage the already old and feeble shed, not to mention the risk of a possible ricochet. Plus, what if he could not reach the corpses once he was done? They would rot under there and cause quite a stink.
2.) He could smoke them out with a little tinder and fire. But that would risk catching the shed on fire which would, again, cause unnecessary damage and possibly a forest fire!
3.) He could just fill the hole with dirt and bury the critters alive. But his conscious simply wouldn’t let him commit such a cruel act.
4.) Put his gloves on and reach in to grab the creature. His gloves were thick and covered up to his forearm. They should be able the handle any scratches or bites. He could then kill the creature quickly in a merciful manner. He could skin it for a decent hide so it didn’t go to waste.
That outta do it. He unhooked his gloves that hung from his belt and slipped them on. He got down on all fours and peered into the hole under the shed only to see darkness. The kitten sounds continued as he reached into the hole.
“For the love of the mountain, please don’t be a skunk.” Jacob muttered to himself as he reached further in. He felt something; a furry leg. He grabbed it and pulled.
“Huhuhu! Nu huwt fwuffy!” A… voice?
Jacob couldn’t believe his ears as he froze for a moment. Did this varmint just… speak? He shook his head thinking he must be crazy. Crazier still was the creature he pulled out from under the shed. It was a tiny pony, hooves and all. But wait… it had little wings on its back, and a horn on its head?
“A child’s toy?” Jacob thought out loud.
“Pweeze nu huwt fwuffy.” The creature begged in a child-like voice. It hung upside down, hanging by its hind leg, covering its face with its stumpy little legs.
“What… are you?” Jacob inquired as he looked the creature over closely.
“Fwuffy am fwuffy.” The creature said, confused with a cocked head. “Fwuffy nu hab namsies.”
“Why do you talk like that?” Jacob wondered. “You sound like a silly baby.”
The creature huffed its Cheeks out definitely as it crossed its arms, still hanging upside down. It turned its head sideways and scoffed. “Fwuffy nu am babbeh, fwuffy am stawwion. Fwuffy am daddeh wif mawe and babbehs.”
“You have a mare and babies?” Jacob looked down at the hole under the shed.
“Eep!” The stallion covered its mouth. It had said too much. “Pwease nu huwt mawe an babbehs! Dew too wittwe!”
Jacob shook his head in disbelief. What a bizarre event this turned out to be. He had never encountered anything like this before in all his years up on the mountain. His head spun as he tried to think.
“Pweeze wet fwuffy gu.” The pony whined. “Weggy huwty. Bad upsies!”
“Oh, sorry about that.” Jacob replied as he set the creature down. “There you go. See? I won’t hurt you.”
“Nu huwt fwuffy?” The creature asked nervously. “Ovah man huwt fwuffy an kiw babbehs.”
“Other man?” Jacob worried, he looked around his homestead as his instincts kicked in. “What other man? Is he after you?”
“Fwuffy escape wif mawe an babbies.” The fluffy explained.
“Oh you ran away from home?” Jacob sighed with relief. It’s was doubtful their owner would come all the way out here looking for them.
“Well you’re safe now.” Jacob said with a smile as he sat down and pet the little green alicorn. “I won’t hurt you or your babies.”
“Pwomise?” The stallion said sweetly as it involuntarily wagged its tail with hidden excitement.
Jacob couldn’t help but laugh out loud, slapping his knee as he chuckled. The little pony’s childish demeanor was quite endearing.
“I promise.” He said, holding his hand over his heart.
“Weawwy!” The stallion exclaimed. “Fwuffy so happy! Can find food fow babbehs now!”
“Is that so?” Jacob wondered as he stroked his beard. “What do you eat?”
“Awe kinds of nummies awound!” Replied the stallion as he began to sniff. “Come on, nice mistah! Fwuffy show how find!”
Jacob chuckled again at the creature’s adorable behavior. He was excited to see what would happen next. He followed the pony around the homestead as it sniffed different patches of plants and weeds until finally coming across something it liked. It was a dandelion patch. The fluffy grabbed as many leaves as it could fit between his teeth before trotting back to the shed. He squirmed through the hole in the back and stayed there for a while.
Jacob sat and waited patiently. He leaned in with a hand cupped behind his ear and listened carefully. He heard the baby kitten noises and the fluffy stallion talking to the mare.
“Mistah pwomise nu huwties!” The father explained. “We safe now!”
Soon the fluffy emerged again and began searching for more food. “Nee mow nummies for famiwy.” He said to himself as he sniffed through the grass around the homestead.
Jacob decided to let the creature be for now. He had his own chores to attend to. He checked his rainwater jug levels to ensure he had plenty of water, he took just enough to have a drink and water his various plants; herbs, vegetables, tomatoes, even a patch of mushrooms. He kept under half of a hollow log.
Lastly he checked his animal snares he kept around his parameter. Most of them hadn’t been triggered, all except one which had a porcupine stuck in it. He carefully killed the creature with his homemade spear, and took it back to be cleaned. The quills had a variety of uses, the meat was delicious, even the organs were good.
All in all it was a good day. Normally Jacob would spend time hunting and cleaning carcasses for materials, but he was pretty stocked up already. He decided to go and study his new friend for a while.
He came back to the shed just in time to find the stallion returning with more dandelion leaves. He crawled into his hole and dropped them off before squeezing back out, wagging his tail and saying hello.
“Hi nice mistah!” The pony cheered. “Fwuffy fine wots of nummies for miwkies babbehs!”
“Oh yeah?” Jacob said. “You’re quite the little pioneer, aren’t you?”
“Fwuffy am… p-pioneew?” The stallion repeated.
“That’s right!” Jacob explained. “It means you’re a tough survivor who lives of the land.”
The fluffy puffed out its chest proudly and stomped his front hoof. “Fwuffy am tuffy suvivew, pioneew!”
Jacob laughed out loud again. “Hey, you want some hot food instead of leaves?”
“Fwuffy wub nummies!” The green creature said excitedly, hopping around the mountain man’s feet. Suddenly he stopped and thought for a moment. “Can shawe wif mawe fow miwkies babbehs?”
“Share with your mate? Sure!” Jacob replied. “Come on, let’s go get the fire started!”