Alrighty, after a month of work being super harsh and…
ok, ok, I am just a serial procrastinator. Sorry.
Anyway, here’s the start of a new chapter in the life of our THICC grey foal, following the events of: The Strongest Muscle 4 [by A-S]
As always, English is not my first language and I am not a pro writer so feel free to notify me about any mistakes by BONKing me on the head.
It was almost 7 AM when Veronica stepped out of her car, still half asleep. She liked her job. Being a veterinary always made her feel like she was making a difference, no matter how small. But she just didn’t do mornings. Yet, despite her half closed eyes, she soon noticed the large cardboard box right by her workplace’s doorstep.
Peeking inside, she saw a fluffy family sleeping peacefully and a note. Sighing with relief, she opened the door and brought them in for a checkup. Last time someone had left a box full of fluffies in front of the office, it had been a lot worse. Someone had left a roughly pillowed mare who had been forced to eat her own chirpy babies. While they were still alive.
Placing the box on the examination table, she turned around to read the note. Just then, one of the fluffies woke up from her sleep. The mare lazily opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. They were in a large box, placed on a dangerously high metal table. The room’s walls were a nice light blue color, with a few desks and tables, where mysterious trinkets and tools laid. A lady wearing white not-fluff was rummaging through a drawer. She had a black, short mane and was lightly humming to herself.
Moving slowly to avoid waking her brave best baby and the chirpies, she rose on her hind leggies, bracing herself against the box with her front ones. Speaking as softly as possible, the mare greeted the lady.
“Hewwo nice wady! Whewe am fwuffies? Who am 'ou?”
Veronica turned around, realizing that one of the fluffies, had woken up.
“Hello there! Don’t worry, you are safe now. I am Veronica and this is my office, where I… uhm… make all hurties go away! Yeah!”
The mare felt happy, hoping this lady would be able to make her best baby’s injuries all better. But before she could say anything about it, the woman spoke up again.
“Now first of all, I see the person who left you here also wrote your names on this piece of paper… You must be Marble, then!”
The fluffy took a few seconds to elaborate who Marble was, until she realized that it must have been her new name, given to her by the kind man who saved them!
“Am…am dat nyu namesie? Fwuffy am Mawbwe? Wub nyu namesie! Nicest mistah gib Mawbwe… whewe am Nicest Mistah?”
Noticing the mare’s sudden morale drop and her frantic looking around the room, Veronica tried to calm her down.
“I am sorry little fluffy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Don’t be sad, I will take good care of you. Now let’s get you all cleaned up and check for any problems.”
Picking up the mare, the young vet immediately noticed her fur had been hastily cleaned up, but it was still pretty dirty on closer inspection, especially near the rear end: she was a feral alright. Which meant the next part would be a pain in the ass. Veronica figured it would be best if she laid the sleeping younglings in the next room in the slim hope the mother would not wake them up.
Marble immediately started worrying when she saw the lady taking the box her babies were sleeping in and bringing it to another room, then shutting the door.
“Whewe nice wady take Mawbwe’s babbehs? Am onwy widdwe babbehs, nee’ mummah!”
Noticing the rising panic in her voice, Veronica played her only card. She would mention the bath last, in hopes that upon hearing it was for her wellbeing, that part would scare her slightly less. All fluffies had an innate fear of water, what with their unability to swim and in some rare cases being able to drown in a kiddie pool. Domestic fluffies could easily be convinced to endure, if not outright like, bath time. After all, a sketti treat and smelling pretty went a long way to make it a pleasing experience. Fluffies loved spaghetti and had a strong sense of smell, so being clean meant increasing their happiness. Ferals however encountered water only in four cases. As puddles on the ground from which they can safely drink. As rain, which soaked their fur and could cause them to fall ill or be weighed down, making it harder to move or escape threats. As large bodies of water, in which they almost always drowned. Lastly, when some unsavory individual purposefully used water to scare them off their lawn or simply to laugh at them scurrying away crying. All in all, there was a 99% chance a feral would be scared of it, ranging from being wary to outright terrified.
“Listen up Marble, this is what happens now. Remember, I need you to know that you are safe with me, I won’t hurt you. I need you to be brave. Will you be a good fluffy for me?”
The mare didn’t like this one bit. Though the lady seemed sincere, she was conflicted. She had learned first-hoof that some humans were meanies who would hurt fluffies for fun, but this one seemed nice enough.
“O…otay. Mawbwe am gud fwuffy fo’ nice wady Vewonica.”
The initial checkup went rather well. Luckily, Marble had no parasites and wasn’t visibly injured, if a bit undernourished, but that applied to most ferals. The mare had expressed discomfort to the young woman examining her private parts and had squealed in pain when she had been given her mandatory shots, but she had endured all of them. Throughout the procedure, Veronica had tried to mentally prepare for the worst part.
“Okay Marble, you look fine and you won’t get sick thanks to the ‘pointy owwies’. However, you are really dirty and smell pretty bad, wouldn’t you agree?”
Lowering her ears, the fluffy agreed.
“Nice wady am wight, Mawbwe nu smeww pwetty, an’ fwuff nee’ wicky cweanies…”
“Which is why, I will now ask you to be extra brave for me.”
The grey foal awoke from his exhaustion-induced slumber to a deafening choir of peeps. He groggily rose to his feet and started looking around. His smaller siblings were all making scaredy peepees and poopies, chirping like crazy. Finally taking in his surroundings, he realized they were trapped in a sorry box. Where was the nice man who had saved them? Where was his…
“MUMMAH!?”
The sounds of a struggle, a human lady’s shouts and his mother’s terrified screams were coming from the door in front of them.
“SCREEEEEE! NU! PWEASE NICE WADY! WAWA AM BAD FO’ FWUFFIES! NU WAN GO FOWEBAH SWEEPIEEEEEEEK!”
“PLEASE MARBLE CALM DOWN, THE WATER WON’T HU…HEY! NO BITING! DON’T FORCE ME TO…OH GOD DAMN IT, NOT IN THE SINK!”
The chirpies were now in a panicked frenzy, the bottom of their enclosure a soppy mess of liquid poop and piss. The large foal himself was equally scared and confused. Where were they and how could they leave this place? He had to rescue his mother, and he had to do it now! He frantically tried to jump out of the sorry box repeatedly, failing by mere inches, a couple times even slamming face down in the mess, much to his chagrin. It was no use. His heart beating like crazy, he heard his mother scream again.
“NU! PWEEEEASE! NU WAN’, NU WAN’! WAI WEGGIES NU’ WOWK? WEGGIES PWEASE, NEE’ WUN!”
Eventually, the screaming ceased. Only the human’s voice could be heard, though her tone of voice was lower now and the foal couldn’t quite understand what she was saying. Not that it mattered. He knew what had just happened. The human had given his mother forever sleepies and would now come for them! He was still hurting from his recent beating, the pain only worsened by his struggles to leave the box, but that didn’t matter. He would protect his brothers and sister, even if it meant getting the worst hurties and forever sleepies! The foal hugged his crying siblings one by one, for what would probably be the last time.
“Nu be scawedies, babbehs… Big Babbeh nu’ wet munstah hooman gib owwies tu widdwe chiwpies. Fwuffy pwomise…”
Veronica was breathing raggedly. Once water had been mentioned, the mare had gone into full blown panic mode, begging and screaming her little heart out. As soon as she had touched the warm water, the struggle had begun. Though fluffies are generally very weak, the woman wasn’t exactly a body builder. The four and a half pounds of bucking and kicking fluffy had taken quite the toll on her. Marble had also bitten her hand and relieved herself in the water, though Veronica wasn’t sure if that was an attempt at giving sorry poopies or simply scaredy ones. She had then resolved to put the animal in a “leggie stopper”, basically a hard rubber board with four holes in it. Once a fluffy’s legs were placed in, they were completely immobilized, with such effectiveness some fluffies even thought their leggies had been cut off. The panicked mare had finally accepted defeat once she had been told she wouldn’t get her leggies back until she was thoroughly bathed, the memory of the monster human threatening to take her leggies still fresh in her racing mind.
With the ordeal finally over, Veronica had placed the rebellious mare in a pet carrier to meditate on why she had been a bad fluffy, then left the room to go check on the babies, only to be greeted by a shrill voice shouting at her.
“Munstah wady gib fowebah sweepies tu mummah, bu’ nu gib owwies tu bwuddahs an’ sistah! Big Babbeh nu wet 'ou!”
Taking in the sight (and the smell!), Veronica couldn’t tell whether she wanted to laugh, cry or fawn over how ridiculously endearing the scarred fluffy looked. He had taken the standard fluffy battle stance: legs spread out and firmly planted to the ground, head lowered and cheeks puffed in a pathetic attempt to look bigger and threatening. To be fair, the woman was actually impressed by the sheer size of the grey foal, more fitting for a young colt than a weanling. However, it was clear he had fallen face first in the gunk he and the other foals had produced, judging by his belly and muzzle being caked in escrements, making it even harder to take him seriously. Despite all that, the fact he had decided to face her to defend his family was adorable. Fluffies were usually cowardly creatures, babies even more so. But not this one. In his emerald green eyes, Veronica saw a spark of defiance.
Loudly sighing, Veronica prepared herself for another, hopefully easier due to size difference, battle.
“Look little one, I did not hurt your mother. I simply gave her a bath to make her smell pretty.”
“Bu’… wawa am bad fo’ fwuffies, am mummah weally otay? Fwuffy wan’ see mummah!”
“She is in the time out box now, because she was a bad fluffy and bit me, but…
Tell you what. If you promise to be a good fluffy and let me give you a nice warm bath, I will show you she is still alive and well.”
Veronica could see the small animal was uncertain, but she didn’t want to resort to threats just yet. The poor thing looked like he’d gone through enough abuse for a lifetime, she felt like having to try her best to go extra gentle with this one.
“Hooman wady… pwomise tu fwuffy?”
“I promise you and your family will be fine little Spike.”
“Who am Spike?”
“Why that’s your name little one. The person who left you here gave your whole family names!”
The gray foal seemed deep in thought for a few moments. Then, tears started welling in his eyes. He had been given a name by the only human who had cared enough to save them from going forever sleepies. And now he was gone. This saddened him, as he probably would never see him again. But if he had decided to leave them here, maybe it wasn’t a bad place at all! Ignoring his recently found instincts, he lowered his guard a little.
“O…otay. Den what am chiwpie babbehs namesies?”
"The pink one is Candy. The Blue one is Jay and the red one is Tomato! Your mother’s name is Marble. Don’t worry Spike, the man who left you here did it because he trusts us!"
That was a bit of an assumption on Veronica’s part. The stranger could simply have looked up the closest shelter/vet and picked hers, but she had the odd feeling that reassuring Spike might be the key to calm the entire family down.
“Now Spike, I need to clean you and your siblings, to make you smell and look pretty. That means I have to give you a bath, but I promise the water is not going to hurt you.”
After showing him that his mother was alive, if in timeout, the gray foal reluctantly agreed to be the first one to go, to ensure the water was actually safe for the chirpies.
Spike actually did remarkably well for a feral fluffy taking his first bath. He froze up after touching the soapy water, literally becoming stiffer than a wooden plank, a single peep escaping his lips. Once he had been dried, his mood had drastically improved by his fur now “smewwing pwetty” and being all soft. Of course, it was short lived. Mentioning the vaccine shots and having to bandage his wounds immediately sparked a few protests about Veronica possibly hurting his siblings and having to wear the “white not-fluff” that made the foal uncomfortable.
“Babbehs am tu widdwe fo’ owwies! Gib mowe pointy huwties tu Spike!”
Her heart melting from the selflessness this foal was displaying, Veronica patiently explained that she needed to give them some quick injections to make sure they didn’t get sick.
All in all, the bathing of the blue and pink babies went well, only with a couple “accidents”, but she had grown to expect those even from domestic foals.
Until it was Tomato’s turn. Apparently, one of his hind legs had gotten injured during last night’s misadventure. Nothing serious, but touching it caused a sudden storm of fearful and pained chirps. Of course, this triggered different responses from the whole family. Marble loudly begged for Veronica to give her son back so she could hug it back to health. The already bathed foals relieved themselves in fear. Again. Spike immediately went back to “defense mode” but thankfully spared Veronica from having to bathe him again.
After re-cleaning the babies, administering their shots and splinting the tiny red limb, the young vet realized this endeavour had taken her almost an hour. She felt exhausted already, and the day had just started. However, after releasing Marble (not before scolding her some more for good measure), the sight of the happy little family hugging each other made it all worth in the young vet’s eyes.
After letting them talk and hug it out for a while, Veronica decided it was time to explain what the fluffies’ future held.
“Alright guys, listen well. I will bring you to a nice, safe place. Hopefully we can find someone that will give you a new home.”
Marble was the first to speak.
“Nice wady gib fwuffies nyu daddeh an’ housie? Fank’ou!”
Veronica hated the next part, but she believed it was right to let every feral family passing through know that there would be a single problem.
“I won’t lie to you. It’s rare for someone to adopt a whole family. More likely, each one of you will go to a different home… but don’t worry! I am sure your new mommies and daddies will love and care for each and every one of you!”
Usually, the idea of adoption, the one (not so) secret dream all feral fluffies shared, always trumped a family’s pain of being split up. Knowing every member would get a loving human owner and a house would help them cope with the separation. However, both Marble and Spike immediately voiced their dislike for such a possibility.
“Nu! Spike nu wan nyu daddeh ow mummah if nu can see mummah an’ babbehs nu mowe!”
“Huu huu, Mawbwe wan’ nyu housie an’ wub, bu’ nu wan’ weave babbehs!”
Veronica sighed, but deep down she was impressed by the apparently tightly-knit bond this family shared. She thought how to keep them together for a while, until it struck her. They could become helper fluffies at the Daycare!
“Ok, I see you don’t want to be split up. I have a deal for you guys. If you work at the Daycare, I can let you live here. We could always need a few good fluffies around to help. Of course, you’ll need to attend the Daycare yourselves before you can work there.”
Again, Spike piped up, curiosity and confusion in his eyes.
“Nice wady? Wut am dae-cawe?”
“Glad you asked Spike. The daycare is a place where we teach fluffies how to be really good!”
This time, it was Marble’s turn to speak up.
“Buh, fwuffies am gud fwuffies awweady, nu’ nee’ teach!”
Stifling a small laughter, Veronica rebutted.
“Oh, is that so? Then, do you know what a litterbox is? Can you count to ten?”
Marble obviously didn’t know neither of said concepts, having always been a feral.
She simply looked at her hooves, a defeated look in her eyes.
“N…nu.”
Veronica went in for the kill.
“Don’t be sad Marble, you can still learn! I am extra sure that you and your family will become super good fluffies if you give the Daycare a chance! Wouldn’t you like that?”
Marble’s eyes lit up. The nice lady would teach her and her babies how to be super good fluffies? They would surely find a nice mommy or daddy, who’d bring them ALL to a nice home, if they learned how!
“Otay nice wady, Mawbwe wan’ go tu dae-cawe. Can babbehs come tu’?”
“Why of course! Your chirpy babies will stay with you, I’ll introduce you to the other mares. Spike, you will be put with the other foals. You’ll love it, I am sure!”
With those words, Veronica ushered the family towards what would soon become their new routine.
