July Babies: Part 1 by Chikahiro
Twig and Fern kept down under the bushes, watching. The thick foliage and branches hid them well with only large white eyes betraying the fact two fluffies were within. Fern kept closer to the front, blending in with the leaves. Twig stayed closer to the roots and branches, keeping an eye behind them.
Humans weren’t normally this deep into the woods. Not now. Not when it was so hot. The stream was closer to the human houses. Here? It was hot and dry. Wawa hadn’t fallen from the sky in many bright times, and while things were still green they weren’t happy. Plants were tired and thirsty, not tasting as good they should.
The two had planned to return to the herd with the sad nummies when they spotted humans.
The humans, young ones, were playing with little red toys. They would do human magic to make little sticks sprout fire, give the fire to the toys, and they’d make loud, bad noises. Fern sucked on a hoof, biting down on it each time the red things exploded, leaving little bits smelly red bits all over where it was.
“Oh shit!” one of the humans yelled. Yellow mane, pale not fluff, with white not fluff on top then blue not fluff on its leggies. “Fire!”
“Stomp it out, dumbass!” Short black mane, its not fluff rich and brown. Same white not fluff on top, blue not fluff on its leggies.
They gave the fire sorry not-hoovesies.
“This is boring,” another one lamented. “Can’t see anything during the day.”
“Yeah. My dad let me get some of the big Fourth of July firework boxes from the store this year. Kind of hard to get excited over stupid little firecrackers.”
“Let’s go then,” the yellow maned human replied. “Maybe the stupid cable company got the internet back up.”
“That’d be sweet. Only 7 more days till we can go nuts with it… light up the sky.”
“Fai-ah-woks.”
Jade’s face scrunched. After living through four cold times and three hottest times, that was one word the smarty never liked to hear. But, if now wasn’t the hottest time, it was close. Once in the hottest time, once in the coldest time.
“Teww odda nummie findas to be bewwy cawefuw an’ hidesies fwom hoomins,” she said, looking at Twig and Fern. “Hoomins awways hab pwenty nummies when hab fai-ah-woks, but gib wowstest huwties wid dem.”
The green and brown Earthies nodded. “Wiww go teww now.”
When the two left, she found herself leaning up against a large brown Earthie, sighing. A big snout nuzzled the top of her head, licking gently around her green horn.
“Wai saddies, Jay-duh?”
“Bad dat fia-ah-woks time now,” she said, almost to noone in particular. “Tu many soon-mama in hewd. Nee’ nummies. No nee’ big bad noise.”
“Dey pwetteh d’oh. Wike speshul fwen’.”
The pegasus smirked. “No mattah, Bawk. Dey pwetteh but go ‘way fas.”
Jade straightened up, giving herself a good shake. The smarty breathed in deeply, holding it for the shortest forever, before puffing out her cheeks and chest.
“Cum. Smawtie an’ toughie nee’ go tawk to soon-mamas.”
The mothers, three of them, were hidden away in a hollowed out stump. Each was ridiculously plump and bloated, heavily filled with foals. They listened to the smarty half-heartedly, each looking to their own bellies in worry.
“No wike bad noises,” Olive moaned. This was her first pregnancy and first hottest time.
“No wike hoomin magic,” a green pegasus sniffed. “Cowd time fia-woks tu scawy.”
The third soon-mama, Rocket, just looked to the ground and cried, her front leg weakly moving about in the air.
“Smawty teww nummie findas be cawefuw. Hoomins nebah fin’ hewd yet.”
“Toughie teww odda toughies fow no twy fight hoomins. Wun away. No make mad. No bwing back twoubwe.”
This calmed the mothers down.
“So mabbeh safe? No huwties?” Olive asked.
“Mabbeh safe. Hewd twy an’ pwotec soon mamas.”
“Den… mabbeh Smawtie no take pwetteh bebbehs?”
“Nu. Yu pwetteh babbies aww bewong to Smawtie.”
