It was a bright sunny day at Sandy’s fluffy farm, the previous days snow had all but melted away and there was barely a chill in the air. It wasn’t quite foal friendly out but the fluffs in the barn were getting restless being cooped up in the barn all winter so it was time to bust out the collapsible green houses. A simple store bought set of quick snap together pipes screwed to the ground and covered in a layer of clear plastic sheeting with a foam padding mat floor and you had a greenhouse. Or in this case a make shift solar heated fluffy play pen for the foals to enjoy their first day outside ever without worry of freezing to death. Once both wee set up end to end she opened the barn door and let Caster and Pollux out of their pens, the blue and red maned twin alicorns got to work opening the other pens and getting the foals on their mother’s backs. Heading out the door to the greenhouse, bringing any toys they could carry in their mouths they slipped past the plastic sheet door and started playing under the twins watchful eyes.
With the twins babysitting Sandy was now free to clean out the pen’s litter-boxes, wipe up splotches of foal poopies and top off the kibble and water. A simple enough but time consuming task that took the better part of an hour, wiping the sweat from her brow she checked on the the fluffies in the green house and were doing well. The fluffies with out foals played in the yard but when they saw her they collectively asked for their coats, knowing only babbehs and parents were allowed in the green house. Getting everyone buttoned and zipped up she let them play and it was now time to check on the new arrival, a heavily pregnant pink and blue maned unicorn she named Annabelle. Her mate had already been reset on to a good obedient parent and moved into the barn but Annabelle was already pregnant when she was caught and brought to Sandy’s farm. She had to wait till the foals were born before she could reset her so she didn’t kill the foals inside and the worst part is she bragged about killing both poopie and munstah bebbehs from several previous litters. Due any day now she was kept away from the others in the side barn with the wash tub and supplies and when Sandy opened the door she was already in labor squeezing out the first of the litter.
-Annabewwe bebbehs cominnnnnrrreeeeEEEEEEEeeeEEEEeeeEEEEE!!-
“Guess I’m just in time then.” Putting on a set of rubber gloves and stepping over the tiny pen fence.
Crouching down next to the padded nest the first had already plopped out onto the pillow-y soft nest and chirped loudly for milkies and warmth. Carefully scooping the chirping lump into her palm the thin layer of peach fuzz fluff was blue but no discernible head or tail fluff yet and set it in front of Annabelle who licked it clean between screams. A few more pushes later and two more fell right into Sandy’s waiting hands too covered in goo to tell what they were so she just passed them to the front for Annabelle to clean. Panting and straining between pushes she screamed again and soon two more fell out, she felt the point of a horn press into her hand when the second fell out and she could make out wings on the second. Annabelle still kept pushing and after a good long minute of screeching and huffing and one last push with all her feeble might and the last three slid out with a wave of afterbirth. Pulling her hands away just in time so the foals didn’t get buried under the placenta and shit and the new mummah took a minute to breath before continuing the lick her brood clean. Able to move about again she rolled onto her side as Sandy moved the first cleaned over to her teats, the little blue earthy colt latched on tight and suckled for all his worth.
-T-thank ou miss Sandy fow hewping wiff mummah’s babbehs. Blech, icky.- Sticking out her tongue in disgust between licks.
“Your welcome deary, keep going your almost done. I’m so proud of you doing so well.” She smiled back trying to keep the mares spirits up.
the second was cleaned up soon, a pink unicorn filly, then a green pegasus colt, another blue earthy colt then a brown unicorn colt which she tried to kick from the nest only half cleaned off. Sandy was quick to scoop up the distressed foal before his mummah’s hoof could hit
-Poopie bebbah am bad need gif wostest sowwy hoofies!-
“NO! A good mummah loves all her babies! Hmph. This attitude will not do, thankfully someone from SkettiLand will be by soon and they’ll give you adjustment you need.”
-Skettiewand!? Mummah gonna haf sketties?-
“You just clean that last foal while I finish cleaning this one.”
Standing up she took a foal safe moist towelette from a tub and carefully wiped the chirping hungry lump of fluff clean. Turning around she knelt back down to the mare and held out hand with the foal in it.
“Now your going to feed this baby like a good mummah or I’ll hold you down while he feeds. Do I make myself clear?”
Annabelle was three licks into the cleaning of her last foal while glaring at Sandy, not paying attention to the task at hand and tried to argue with her on why poopies are bad. This meant that Sandy was first to notice the amazing treasure laying before her, the last foal was an alicorn and it was gold, not yellow but actual gold and maybe even shiny as well once its dried off. She had to think fast now, her only nurse mare died last week of old age, none of the other mares were big on sharing their precious milk and she wasn’t sure if she had any foal formula on hand. Can’t take the foal with her she had nothing to cover it with and even the chilly air outside would surely kill it and Annabelle would do the same in a heart beat. Well it was now or never, time to lie her ass off to this awful mother and try and trick her into caring for it.
-Poopie nu wuv mummah nuff to be pwetty cowow so dey nu get wu-
“Oh my goodness, Annabelle!” She shouted excitedly cutter her off. “You made a magic skettie baby!”
-Whuh? Magic… Skettie babbeh?- Looking down at the last foal. -Screeeeeeeeee! Munstah! Get wostest stompies!- The mare raised a hoof to crush the chirping lump.
“NO! It’s not a monster!” Grabbing the mare’s leg. “It’s a magic skettie baby, a magic test to see if you’re the best mummah ever. All you have to do is take care of all your babies even the brown and alicorn for one day and when you go to bed they will go away all by them selves. And you know what will happen then? It will be skettie day every day forever!”
Annabelle’s eyes lit up with wondrous joy at this news, then she looked down at the golden chirping foal with the nubby little horn and wings and she felt fear and disgust at the idea of caring for it. But skettie day every day forever? The first time she ever had sketties in her life was last week, it was better than she could have ever imagined. To have that every day, making milkies with it for her bestest babbeh, which she hadn’t even picked yet being so caught up in everything.
-Annabewwe (Huff) do it fow da sketties.- Relaxing her leg.
“Alright then, now for the magic to work you have to be a good mummah to even the brown one too AND you can’t pick a bestest baby.”
Annabelle’s jaw dropped then she pouted looking down at the golden foal still chirping and hungry like the rest and she relented, she’d just pick tomorrow then.
“Now I want to see you feed the magic skettie baby before I go to be sure.”
Annabelle hesitantly took the foal from Sandy’s hand, it was a filly and after a moment of staring at her she put her to her other teat. It felt so wrong to her having the filly attached to her but she bared it as best she could, for the sketties. Satisfied for the moment Sandy set the brown foal down in with the other waiting hungry foals as Annabelle sat in her haunches grumpily fed her foals. Her perfect moment to be a happy mummah with her good babbehs ruined in her mind for the moment. Sandy stood up, brushed off her skirt and hurried out the door in search of the right supplies and fast before the new mummah changed her mind about the foal.
“Remember, skettie day every day forever if you do this right. Aren’t you lucky? That’s the perfect name for the magic skettie baby, Lucky.” She beamed as she left.
When the door shut Annabelle was furious. A Name?! For this monster?! Before any of her good babbehs?! Especially the pink filly that looked so much like her, a perfect bestest babbeh, she didn’t dare say it out loud but by the next bright time she wold have her bestest and all the sketties in the world. The blue foal’s suckling slowed and she plucked him off and he greedily chirped for more and the pink filly got the next turn. She also decided the gold foal had had enough already and she was pulled off with barely a half a belly full and the green one was put in her place. The brown foal went last of course and got even less than Lucky did, but Annabelle just needed him quiet and looking good enough to fool “the magic” into thinking she was doing a good job. She was certain she could do it and then, sketties forever.
Sandy rummaged through her pantry with a portable heating pad slung over her shoulder with a blanket in the crook of her elbow. She swore under her breath knocking over cans of vegetables and canned fluffy sketties looking for something to use as a milk substitute and came up empty. She’d have to resort to whole milk from the fridge so she filled a bottle and stuck it in the microwave checking it till it was warm enough. She had to hurry she wasn’t sure how long she could trust Annabelle alone with Lucky while she debated selling or keeping and breeding her, if those colors were hereditary… The phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts and was quick to answer it.
“Sandy’s Fluffy Farm this is Sandy how may I help you today?.. What do you mean the transfers invalid? I just sold a two hundred dollar pedigreed foal yesterday and you telling me the money’s no good? Son of a bitch! (Sigh) Thanks for letting me know. Goodbye.”
The gentle “Pap pap pap” of soft hoofies on a sliding glass door got her attention, seeing a blue and red maned alicorn smacking on the glass.
-Miss Sandy! Beep beep ting making beep beeps! Chiwpy mummahs need back in bawn to give miwkies to chiwpy babbehs!- He shouted through the glass.
“Yes, okay, thank you, Pollux.” Heading for the door.
-It’s Castew.-
“Yes Caster whatever, let’s go.” Having forgotten about the feeding timer for the chirpy’s, she headed for the barn door to let the mares back in forgetting the milk bottle.
Just as she was about to shut the door the front doorbell chimed.
“(sigh), now what?” Stepping back inside.
Annabelle say looking down at her squirming clutch of chirping lumps of color and repeated to herself the things her own mummah had taught her about being a good mummah.
-Good mummahs wuv theiw babbehs. Good mummahs give huggies, an miwkies. Good mummahs teach pway nice an make good poopies. Good mummahs gif sowwy hoofies to bad babbehs wike poopies an munstahs… (sighs) Why magic skettie babbeh haf to be munstah?-
Well by this time the salty little mare was starting to crack and began actively looking for any reason at all to punish Lucky. So far the only “offense” she could find was somehow Lucky ended up at the top of the fluff pile of her sleeping siblings still chirping for more milkies. That certainly wouldn’t do in her eyes, with one hoof she pushed the foal off the top and dug out her chosen favorite and placed the filly on top. Lucky was pushed even further until she joined her brown brother at the nest’s edge who chirped just as loud for more milkies but she pushed them away each time they crawled closer.
-Go sweepie babbehs. Go sweepie an go 'way so mummah can haf sketties.-
Of course the foals didn’t listen and kept crawling to her milkie places and were pushed back by her hind leg over and over until she quickly started to get frustrated.
-Bad babbehs! Mummah said nu mowe miwkies!- Raising a hoof to give sorry hoofies to them both.
She froze as she raised her front leggy when she heard the door start to open and she quickly grabbed Lucky and jammed her to her teat then the brown and started singing the mummah song. Sandy walked in, arms full of supplies with Earl carrying a cardboard box and then Goblin came in and Annabelle nearly scaredy poopied herself on the spot.
“Oh the poor dear, just set her up on the table and thanks for bringing in the new nurse mare. Now as for you.” Turning to Annabelle with phone in hand looking at the camera feed. “You passed, but barely.”
-GASP! Den mummah get sketties foweva!?- Barely able to contain her excitement.
“This is Annabelle, huh? Surprise she didn’t kill it already.” Earl mused squatting down to get a closer look at her.
“Just get her reset so I don’t have to worry about her anymore. I can’t let her first meeting with the rest be tainted by her acting like… This!” Holding out her phone, replaying the last few minutes with audio.
Earl reached down and plucked the foals from her teats and picked her up and set her on the counter next to the box. She could see inside it now and a sleeping yellow and blue maned alicorn mare slept inside covered in bandages. Great another monster, she thought, this place had too many monsters just running around. When she turned to Earl to express her displeasure at the new arrivals he pressed two fingers from his metal hand to her forehead and tazed her counting to ten. Sandy winced at the sight, turning away she couldn’t stomach that look in a fluffy’s eyes when they’re reset.
“And that should do it, here we go. AHEM!.. There are no poopie or monster babies, only good babies. You teach babies to play nice, share and make good poopies in the litterbox. It gives you biggest heart happies when babies don’t need milkies anymore because you want them to go to nice new mommies and daddies so you can have more babies when it’s your turn again.”
“And sharing your milkies with other babies is nice too.” Shelly added in at the last minute. “…What? In case the new nurse mare dies I might need a back up.”
After a few moments Annabelle blinked the glazed look out of her eyes, she shook her head and looked around confused.
-whuh…whewe am fwuffy?-
“Hello Annabelle you’re safe here and we found your babies and special friend! there right down here.”
Sandy scooped her up and sat her back into the pen and she gasped with excitement of being a mummah to such pretty babbehs. Lucky and the brown foal were still hungry after so many interruptions and latched back on desperate for whatever was left, She cooed at them gently stroking them with one hoof.
-Fwuffy namesies am Annabewwe? So pwetty namsies. Whewe am mummah’s speshaw fwend?- Looking up at them.
“I’ll go get him, just stay put and keep feeding those babies.” Stepping outside.
As soon as the door shut Earl looked down at Goblin who sat at the edge of the pen watching Annabelle feed and sing to her foals. He met her before when Jake fished her out of the live trap in the park, she screamed and called a giant monster, now she smiled at him and asked if he was a new friend. How did he do that, he wondered then looked up at Earl.
-Boss give zappies to bad mawe an now she good?-
“It’s a bit more complicated but kinda yeah.”
-Has Boss eva done that to Gobwin?-
“No. I did it to your dad once, when he started getting very bad but his powers made it not work. Then he ran away. So, are you happy now? This filly will have a nice new home with lots of friends. Okay?”
-Yeah, dis pwace am nice. Time go home now? Speciaw fwend am soon mummah now an scawed when Gobwin no cwose.-
“Yeah let’s go. I got some stuff to tell you, it’s gonna blow your mind but I gotta explain a few things before your new brothers arrive.”
-Bwuddahs?-
Sandy came back in with Castor and another fluffy, a green and yellow maned pegasus stallion who beamed with delight at seeing his new family.
-Winston am daddeh now!- Running to the pen almost oblivious to Goblin’s and Earl’s presence.
Sandy knelt down removing the fencing letting Winston run up to cuddle with the new Annabelle and marvel at his children while Sandy got the new family ready to move to the barn. Earl took that as his cue to leave he snapped his fingers and Goblin followed him out the door. Goblin looked around watching the other fluffies run and play with their toys paying close attention to Pollux refereeing a fight between two fluffs over who’s turn it was with a ball. Something told him he’d need the parenting tips for himself soon enough, cutting through Sandy’s house they met Odin who was half way out the van’s window happily barking for attention.
Sandy carefully scooped up the foals onto a heated pad and covered them in a blanket much to Annabelle’s fussing about them being too little for uppies yet. But with Winston’s assurance she let up and followed Sandy out the door into the yard and to the barn where she set them in their assigned pen with their excited parents settling in. Giving Birth was an arduous process and Annabelle at this point was ready to drop from exhaustion so she gathered her foals close to her tummy fluff as she curled around them and was out like a light. With Winston settling in next to her Sandy got up and gently shooed away the gathering crowd of curious fluffies. Sandy had claimed she was sick to keep them separate until her reset to keep up the illusion that every fluffy here was always good with a clean slate of past sins. With the new family settled in and alone she returned to the side barn to the little alicorn in the box still sleeping off the cocktail of drugs Earl gave her to keep her quiet for the trip.
“Now what to name you… Hmm… how bout Libby.”
True hugboxer indeed.