Created for the Wub Day event, and to give a little snippet of Clover and his foal’s life post Brookshire Farms.
You chewed your lip, carefully pressing your paint covered hoof against the construction paper. You held it there for a moment before slowly peeling it up, leaving behind a purple vaguely heart shaped mark.
“That looks so good, Sprout!” Chelsea clapped her hands behind you. “Do you want another color?”
“Nu, am dun!” You held out your hooves and she wiped them clean with a damp cloth.
“I’ll hang this up to dry then, why don’t you go help your sister with the snacks?” Chelsea nodded to Nova, struggling to get a box of conversation hearts off her horn before turning back to help the rest of the hoof painting fluffies.
You trotted across the padded pen, admiring the decorations. “Wub-day” wasn’t something you’d heard before but being a fluffy foal meant lots of new things every day! Today it was pink hearts and glitter, lots of fun candies and special cards to give out to the people you loved! Miss Chelsea had her rolly-legs covered in pink and purple ribbons tied into pretty bows, it made you wish you had rolly-legs like her to decorate.
“Sissy am otay?” You asked as you approached Nova.
She turned to you with frustrated tears in her eyes. “Candy am nummin’ Noba! Nu wan’!”
“Bwuddah hewp!”
She lowered her head and you grabbed the box, pulling as hard as you could on it to free her. There was no resistance, so instead of struggling with the mean box you went tumbling backwards, conversation hearts spilling out of the box and skittering off in every direction.
“Nuuuu!” Nova yelled, scrambling after them. “Nu wun’ way! Noba nee’ candy!!”
You quickly recovered, shaking the dizziness from your head and slamming a hoof down on the open box to keep anymore of the candies from escaping.
“Noba jus’ eat candies fwom fwoow!”
She shook her head. “Candy nu fo’ noba, candy fo’…” She trailed off, blushing.
“Candy fo’…?”
Noba hid her head in her hooves. “Candy fo’ Daffodiw! Noba wan’ teww Daffodiw dat he am pwetty fwuffy…” she curled into an embarrassed ball in the candy mess.
You chewed your lip for a moment. “Spwout wiww hewp sissy.”
“Bwuddah wiww?!” Nova lit up, springing to her hooves.
You held up a hoof. “Nu wowk fo’ fwee. Spwout wan’ dese candy.”
“Buh…” Tears began to form in Nova’s eyes once again. “Nu can gib candy to Daffodiw if nu hab…”
“Du noba twust bwuddah?”
Nova thought for a moment, then nodded. “Noba awways twust bwuddah.”
“Spwout be wite bak.” You trotted back across the pen to where the hoof painting activity was. “Miss Chewsea?”
“Yes?” She looked up from wiping Forest’s hooves between colors. “Change your mind on your card?”
You shook your head. “Spwout wan’ candies.”
“Oh, not saving them anymore?” She reached into the bag on the back of her rolly-legs and pulled out your box of conversation hearts.
“Noba candy wun way, Noba nu can gib tu…” You paused, deciding to keep your sister’s intentions to yourself. “Tu oddah fwuffy. Spwout gib Spwout candy tu Noba!”
“Oh, that’s so sweet of you!” She gave you a pat on the head before pulling one of the ribbons on her wheels undone and tying it around the candy box. “Here, let’s make it extra special then!”
“Tank’oo Miss Chewsea!!” You took the box and ran back to Nova. Seeing her excited grin at the pretty box filled you with pride. “Dewe, gib dat tu Daffodiw.” You set it at her hooves and then were tackled to fhe floor.
“Spwout am bestest bwuddah ebah!!” She nuzzled your face quickly before grabbing the box and trotting over to where Daffodil was sitting with his grand-mummah Flower. You watched the two of them exchange cards as you snacked on the half box of chalky candy, looking forward to seeing Daffodil more. You had heard Big Daddeh and Miss Chelsea talk about Nova and Daffodil being “special friends” one day, you didn’t really know what that meant other than special friends lived together, like your Daddeh and Mummah used to. You liked Daffodil, he was fun to play with! He would be a very fun friend to have live with you!
“Alright fluffies, time to gather up our projects and go home!” Miss Chelsea called.
You carried the now empty box of candy over to where your Big Daddeh and Daddeh stood against the side of the pen.
Chelsea handed a bright pink card covered in glitter out to Big Daddeh. “Here’s Little Lilac’s card-”
“It am fo’ yu Daddeh!” She chirped, beaming up at him.
Clover took it from her, admiring it. “It am su pwetty!!”
“Yeah! I think with that much glitter we’ll have it with us forever.” Sam quipped.
“Fowest make cawd fo’ Big Daddeh!” Forest came forward with a large roughly folded sheet of blue cardstock. “Fowest dwaw Big Daddeh on it!”
“Oh it looks just like you!” Miss Chelsea said, stifling a giggle at the very round shape on the front.
You and Nova were gathered up with your siblings, they chattered about their candy and friends while you kept your card tucked tightly against your chest. Miss Chelsea slipped an extra box of candy into it with a wink as she handed it to you.
As Big Daddeh was loading you all into his truck he noticed the construction paper under your hoof. “Oh, what’s that Sprout?”
“It am Wub Day cawd!”
“Did you not get a chance to give it away? We can go back if you want-”
“Nu, it am fo’ Mummah!” You clutched it tightly in case he tried to take it from you.
Big Daddeh nodded slowly. “Ah. I understand.”
You looked out the window as your family drove home, the clouds painted pink with the setting sun.
Your Mummah was not someone you remembered. You remembered being warm and safe, a vague memory of a voice that made you feel loved, soft fluff and rich milk. You had seen her in pictures, thick brown fluff like Forest and a curly purple mane like Lilac. You knew that Lilac was named after her. You knew she loved you. You knew she went to sleep forever because someone wanted to hurt your family. That was it, though.
“Alright kids!” Big Daddeh stopped the truck. “You all follow Clover inside, Sprout and I will be in in just a bit for dinner!”
Big Daddeh scooped you off the seat while your siblings trotted after Daddeh.
“Hab sketti fo’ dinnah?” Forest asked.
“Too many sketties nu guud fo’ fwuffy.” Clover replied.
Their begging voices faded away as Daddeh carried you across the darkening yard. He set you down in front of a set of solar lights illuminating a carved white stone set in the grass.
LILAC
BELOVED MOTHER AND SPECIAL FRIEND
“I’ll be on the porch, take all the time you need, okay?” You thought you saw Big Daddeh wipe something from his eye as you nodded.
You set the card next to the stone, on the side where the fluffy moss grew and placed the candy box down next to it.
“Hewwo Mummah! Spwout made yuu cawd!”
Mummah didn’t reply. She never did, not in all the times you’d come out here to talk to her. Big Daddeh said that she could hear you but could only speak to your heart, and you could feel her love there every time.
“Spwout am duin’ guud, am guud fwuffy wike Mummah wan’. Spwout pway nicey wif’ fwens, make guud poopies, gu sweepies at bed tiem…” you trailed off, thinking.
“Spwout… miss Mummah. Buh Spwout nebah knu Mummah.”
You thought of the other fluffy mother’s you’d seen at daycare and the park. They reminded you of her, or at least your vague memories. You didn’t want for love or hugs in the slightest. Between your siblings, Daddeh, Big Daddeh, and the rest of the fluffy herd you were smothered in love.
Still, there was something missing.
You sometimes felt guilty about it. Your Daddeh worked very hard to take care of you and your siblings while also doing all his work with the humans. Big Daddeh said it was very important work that was good for every fluffy everywhere, but even when he was tired he would play with you. He sang songs to you while he held your milk bottles, he gave you licky-cleanies, he snuggled all of you at night. But… he wasn’t her.
Sometimes you even felt jealous of Nova. She said she remembered her a little bit, seeing her when the Bad Man came and hurt Daddeh and made her sleep forever. You felt really bad about that. Nova had bad sleepy-pictures about it offen, she didn’t like remembering it. You shouldn’t want it either.
“Spwout wub yu wots an’ wots, Mummah. Bwuddah an’ sissies wub mummah tu. Spwout hope Mummah hab guud foebah sweepy-pictuwe.”
You kissed the top of the headstone like you always did, adjusted the card next to it so it was more upright. The lights illuminated the shapes painted on the front, a brown blob with a streak of purple on one side and a smaller pale green blob with a rough purple heart between them.
“All done?” Big Daddeh stood and stretched as you trotted to the back porch.
“Yus!”
“Why don’t we have something special for dinner then, since it’s Wub Day?”
“Can hab Sketti?”
Big Daddeh smiled as he opened the back door. “Sure, you want to be the one to tell your siblings?”
“Yus!!” You sprinted inside, ready to share the wonderful news. You didn’t notice Big Daddeh hesitate in the doorway, looking over at the grave in the yard.
