Quinn ambled down the street, thinking about nothing. It was a cool fall day, and he smiled at the way the leaves crunched under his sneakers. His brown hair, which was pulled back in a short ponytail, moved with the breeze. Winter was coming.
“Mummah wuv babbehs, babbehs wuv mummah…” Quinn heard a familiar song float from behind a metal dumpster nearby. Curious, he wandered towards the sound.
“Babbehs get miwkies, gwow up big an’ stwong!” He heard a childlike voice croon. It was kind of cute. He was aware of fluffies’s existence, but his area had very few due to the strict rules on them.
Ferals were to be either captured and fixed or exterminated on sight, while non-breeding domestics were required to be spayed/neutered. Abandoning a fluffy on the street was illegal, and the legality of abuse of fluffies was being debated in court. Fluffies were manmade organisms made of multiple species, after all. Some particularly bad herds, while extremely rare, were known to have negative effects on things like farmland if they overgrazed.
Quinn peeked behind the green dumpster and immediately heard a “SCREEE! Nu huwt babbehs!”. He barely dodged the rotten banana peel thrown his way. He held up his hands in a sign of peace. The back of the dumpster was dark enough that he could just barely see a frightened fluffy sitting back there, with about 3 foals.
“Whoa, whoa! I’m not here to hurt you or your babies. I just heard your song and thought it sounded nice, so I came over to see who was singing.” Quinn explained. “Can you come out so I can see you? I want to meet you.”
The mare stayed right where she was. “Why shouwd mummah? Fwuffy knu hoomans nu wike fwuffies who nu hab hoomans hewe. Awwmost wost tummeh babbehs thanks to bad hoomans! Nu twust yoo!” She snarled. Quinn nodded. He’d lose trust in people too if they tried to take his children and hurt him.
“Understandable. I don’t know how I can prove to you that I’m not a bad guy, but I’ll do what I can.” He answered. The mare stared back at him, seemingly in thought.
“… If hooman bwing mummah nummies fow miwkies… Mummah come out to see yoo.” She sighed. She knew there’d be no getting rid of this human. Quinn nodded and walked off to find something good for a fluffy to eat.
He came back with an assortment. An apple, freshly cut grass, and a few thornless roses that he clipped from his own bushes. The mare’s eyes lit up when she saw the variety of good food placed in front of her.
One of the foals stepped forward and sniffed deeply at the rose. “Coooo…” the foal purred at the nice smell.
“Nummies smeww pwetty, don’t they, babbeh?” The mummah asked, crunching down on the apple. “Yoo get nummies wike dat when yoo am big enough!”
After she was finished, she hiccuped a little and stepped towards Quinn. “Otay. Yoo am nice mistah. Mummah come out to see yoo. Nu huwt babbehs… Otay?” She aked. Quinn nodded.
“Otay gud babbehs, fowwow mummah!” She called, and the three foals perked up. They walked over on unsteady legs.
“Why don’t you carry your foals?” Quinn asked. “Most mummahs carry them on her back.”
“Babbehs nee’ use weggies so they get stwong fast! Mummah couwd get huwties ow go fowebah sweepies anytime, su babbehs nee’ get stwong quick.” The mare explained. She stepped out into the sunlight.
What a pretty family! He knew a lot of fluffies were nicely colored, but goddamn they were gorgeous. The mare was a pegasus with a pastel orange, and her mane and tail were a sky blue streaked with white. Her hooves, as well as her primary feathers, were a deep, almost glittery purple. Her eyes were a hazelnut brown.
Her 3 foals were fantastic too. The one walking directly behind her was a unicorn with dark, muted purple fur. Its tail, just a puff of hair right now, was a wine red. Its hooves were a very light green, almost white. Its eyes were a dark blue.
The second one was another pegasus with a nice, light tan. Its tail was a raspberry reddish purple. Its hooves and primary feathers were a brick red. It cooed at Quinn politely, wagging its tail. It picked up a twig in its teeth and trotted up to its mummah. This one may have been mostly dog DNA.
The third one in line was a deep ocean blue earthie. Its tail was a strawberry red streaked with a muted green. Its hooves and primary feathers were a canary yellow. It purred when its mummah pulled it into a hug along with the other 2 foals.
“Wow, such a good mother! I’ll tell you what; How would you like to come home with me? You and your babies are clearly in danger out here, and I live alone. So how about it?” Quinn asked. The mare sat down to think.
After about a minute or two of thinking silently to herself, the pegasus mare spoke. “Yus… Onwy if yoo pwomise to hu huwt babbehs ow mummah. Am dat a deaw?” She asked, holding her hoof out.
“It’s a deal!” He gently shook her hoof and smiled. 4 new pets! Score! He gently scooped them into his arms, not minding if his clothes got dirty, and turned to leave.
“Okay, let’s go home.” Quinn almost walked away with them in-arms before he heard a feeble “Chirp…” from underneath the dumpster. The mummah sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Ignowe dat babbeh. Nu want.” She grumbled. Quinn ignored her request and set her and her foals back down on the ground. He kneeled down and peered in back of the dumpster. A foal was squeezing its way out from under the dumpster quietly.
“Dat am mummah’s weast favowite babbeh. Nu wike.” She glared in the foal’s direction and the baby shrunk back with an “Eep!”. “Dats wight! Yoo stay in dewe! Nu come wif mummah!” She snarled. The foal began to cry.
Quinn gasped, internally horrified. How cruel! He reached his hand in, holding it out kindly to the baby. “Here, little buddy. Step up, I’ll take you home.” The foal sniffled and timidly shuffled forward, eventually climbing into Quinn’s hand. He slowly took his hand out, ignoring the mare’s growls of “Nu! Dat am ugwy babbeh! Nu can come wif mummah!”.
The foal was absolutely tiny, and looked almost emaciated. It was obvious she hadn’t fed this foal from birth. It was a beautiful midnight blue, with an almost vantablack mane and tail. A gentle flip of the foal told him it was a boy. The baby’s hooves were a sunset orange, a nice contrast to the dark colorations. The foal’s minty green eyes stared pleadingly up at him, and it chirped. It sounded like a baby chick.
Quinn’s heart melted and broke at the same time. How could anyone, especially the foal’s own mother, harm such a cute little thing? He held the foal out to her, showing the tiny thing to her.
“Excuse me, but why don’t you love this baby too?” Quinn asked, raising a brow.
“Dat babbeh am mummah’s weast favowite cowow. Su, am ugwy. Nu wuv!” She growled, trying to push the hand holding the foal away from her. The other foals looked down at the pavement, seemingly ashamed of their mother’s behavior. One of them spoke up, the tan one.
“Chirp Mummah! Wub bwuddah! Nu be meanie! Chirp!” The foal pleaded, tugging at their mother’s front leg. The mare gently shoved the foal back, sending it tumbling. The other foals comforted the tan one as it sobbed sadly.
“Nu! Dat babbeh am ugwy! Mummah nu want! Weave dat babbeh dewe!” She pointed back behind the dumpster, glaring daggers right into Quinn’s eyes.
“…Excuse me?” Quinn asked, glaring back. “Are you telling me that because this foal is your least favorite color, you want to leave it to fend for itself and potentially die?”
“Yes.” The mummah answered back with zero guilt. Quinn facepalmed. One of those rumored “bad mummahs”. And the foals weren’t old enough to be without their mother. Great. He had no choice to take the mare home despite her being a bitch to her child for no good reason. Still holding the dark blue foal, he made his was back home, leading the fluffies to his house. Once they were all inside, he closed and locked the front door.
5 new pets and a bad mummah to train.
First chapter: You are here!
Next chapter: Chapter 2
but i hope she gets better lol
