Warning: Gratuitous Hugbox Ahead
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The mummah was joyfully taking her onliest baby out for a mid-day walk to show him the sights. It had been really hard for her to have a not-forever-sleepy baby.
He’d only recently opened his eyes, just a few days before. Now she wanted to bring him to all the places she loved so he could use his see-places to see them. She wanted to show him the very prettiest things she knew. It was just after Babbeh’s lunchies, and Mummah was bringing him to her favourite place: Her super secret clubhouse.
Down a small embankment, which she carefully navigated on her calloused leathery hoofsies, lay the smallest crack in the side of an overlooking cliff. She approached it, and Babbeh’s lip began to quiver.
“Peep…”
“It otay, babbeh. It nu scawy inside dawky pwace. Mummah wiww show yu. Make Babbeh suuu happies! Watch.”
With her baby tucked into her fluff, Mummah squished herself into the little crack. It was tall enough for three fluffies, but only wide enough for a little less than one. Her pudgy sides were squeezed as a result and she gave a Huff! as she popped through the hole with her little guy still in tow.
Mummah slowly crept through the near-complete darkness a short ways. Something was visible at the end of a short, thin natural tunnel. Babbeh peeped in worry when he heard Mummah’s hoofsies plodding through the shallow water that covered the floor. Wawa was bad for fluffies!
“Babbeh, am a widdew scawed? Cwose yu see-pwaces. Mummah wiww wet Babbeh knu when tu open again!”
Babbeh clenched his eyes and covered them with one tiny hoofsie. He used the other to keep his grip on Mummah’s back fluff. Before he knew it he heard his Mummah again.
“Okay, Babbeh. Time to open see-pwaces. Wook!”
The way her voice echoed back from all over made Babbeh shudder at first. How many big fluffies were surrounding them?
But when he uncovered and opened his eyes it was just himself and Mummah. And then he realized.
All around the pair was a shimmering cave full of jagged crystal formations. They glittered and shined and made Babbeh let out a peep. There were holes in the ceiling of the wide-open cavern they’d emerged into. Shafts of golden light from the bright ball outside stabbed down and broke the darkness. Everything was beautiful. His young eyes hadn’t seen much, but this was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen!
Well, the second-most amazing thing. Mummah was the most-most.
“Babbeh, dis am bewy speshew pwace. Mummah fine dis pwace many fowebahs ago. Dis pwace am whewe Mummah an’ Daddeh used to wun and pway togedah. Dat was aww da way back, when we was onwy widdew babbehs. Jus’ a it bigga dan yuu am nao~!”
“Chirp!”
“Das wight! Mummah was a spwowin’ babbeh. Mummah fine dis pwetty pwace an’ keep it a speshew secwet. It onwy for Mummah an’ Daddeh fow many fowebahs. An’ now, it am awso fow shawing wiff Babbeh!”
Babbeh peeped and chirped with pride. This must mean he was really a big fluffy now!
Mummah walked to a small mound of rock near the center of the cave. The sound of the occasional droplet falling into the inch-or-so of water within the gem cave reminded Babbeh that there was water all around them.
“Babbeh, wawa am bad fow fwuffies. Pwease nebah gu neaw big wawa wiffout Mummah ow Daddeh be wiff you. Unnastan?”
Mummah waited for Babbeh to confirm.
“Otay. Buh… Mummah am hewe. An dis am onwy widdew wawa. Su it am otay fow Mummah to wet you feew da wawa.”
Mummah let her baby slide off her back fluff onto the cold, hard rock. Plopping onto the ground forced him to let out a tiny chirp. She sat at the edge of the still water and took her little foal up into both front hooves. She held him around his chest, under his armpits. Then, Mummah began to slowly lower him toward the water.
“Peep! Peep! Chirp! Peep chirp!” The baby fluffy cried in panic. Was Mummah going to drop him into the water? Was he a bad baby!?
“Shh, shh, Babbeh. Dese am gud upsies. Mummah pwomise. Twuss Mummah.”
With tiny tears still tumbling from his see-places, he peeped a few more times. He did trust Mummah. He loved Mummah.
He chirped at first as his tiny, delicate hoofsies made contact with the chilly wawa. Mummah lifted him back up for a second, then lowered his tipsy-toesies into the water again. His peeping slowed momentarily, and then it started right up again. But this time he had a big toothless smile on his fuzzy face.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
“Am cowd hoofsies Babbeh? Oochie coochie! Widdew babbeh haffin’ fun?”
Babbeh giggled out more peeps and chirps. Mummah’s own jubilant laughter joined his own and their chortles, chuckles, guffaws, and giggles all echoed around the big cavern and made it sound like fifty fluffies were in on the joke.
He splished and splashed on the water’s surface. He was merry as could be! It was thrilling to be able to have fun with something scary, instead of just being afraid.
After some more splashing his hoofsies at the water’s edge, Mummah raised her son up and placed him gently onto one shoulder. He settled into her back fluff again while she stood up on all-foir leggies.
“Babbeh, howd on tight as yuu can tu Mummah’s fwuff, otay?”
“Peep!”
“Otay, wet’s guu!” Mummah broke into a soft trot, her hooves slapping into the shallow pool. Splish! Splash! Splish! Splash!
Mummah trotted with Babbeh holding onto her fluff, going around and around in big wide circles. Every time she and Babbeh would go through a beam of sunshine from the roof, he would peep and giggle.
“Mummah wuvs Babbeh! Babbeh wuvs Mummah! Mummah make spwashies fow make Babbeh waffy!!”
Mummah’s leathery hooves kept on sending ripple after ripple to dance across the water. Babbeh laughed and chirped and peeped. And Mummah laughed along with him.
Mummah got distracted, though…
The beams of light weren’t coming in as strongly anymore, after what didn’t even seem like very many forevers. The bright sky ball must have beeb getting ready for bed time. Their herd would also be bedding down for the night soon enough.
She plopped her fat bottom onto the same rocky island that had kept their hoofsies dry just a short while before. Babbeh slid down Mummah’s ample fluff and sat beside her with a heavy plop. She smiled at how her little son mimicked her own behaviour. He was the best. Maybe the bestest of all babbehs, ever!
“Babbeh, Mummah wuv yuu suu muchies. Tank yuu fow make Mummah suu happies.”
Babbeh smiled back, his bright eyes squeezed by the goofy grin.
“S-S-S…” Mummah stared at Babbeh when he began to make a hiss. Her mouth hung open slightly in interest. “Peep! Peep!” Babbeh scrunched his little face and furrowed his brow. “S-S-Spo…”
“Babbeh!? Babbeh make talkies? Am talkie babbeh nao? Ooh, Mummah am suu pwoud ob Babbeh! Guu, Babbeh, guu!”
Babbeh chirped once more before finally letting out, “S-Sp-Spwowe!”
“Das wight, Babbeh! Spwowe! Gud Babbeh!” Mummah let out a “Yippee!” and threw her front hoofsies up over her head.
“Spwowe! Spwowe! Peep! Peep!”
Mummah scooped Babbeh up into her gentle grasp and hoisted him up. His chubby little tummy bounced with laughter.
“Otay, Babbeh,” she began while lowering him down onto her shoulder so he could ride on her back again. “Am time fo gu homesies. Hewd and Daddeh wiww be wowwy fow Mummah an’ Babbeh if nuu back by nestie time.”
“Peep… Mo’ spwowe…?” Babbeh was sad now.
“Babbeh, nuu can stay fo-”
“Mummah? Pwee spwowe?”
“Hmm… Weww…” She could still see the sky through the openings above when she looked up. No twinklies out yet, and the sky still looked mostly blue but was quickly turning purple. “Maybe Mumma an’ Babbeh can stay jus’ a widdew whiwe mowe.”
Mummah could tell that Babbeh was sleepy anyway. She had him lay in her back fluff and she laid herself down, too. She knew they had to get home before dark. But they had enough time for her to sing her little explorer one more Mummah song.
“Mummah wuv Babbeh, Babbeh wuv Mummah. Mummah wuv spwowin’, spwowin’ wiff Babbeh…~”
She could hear his sleepy peepies now. That was fast. Mummah stood, careful to keep Babbeh safely in her fluff. She plodded back across the toe-deep water and toward the cave’s tiny entrance.
“Babbeh wuv spwowin’, spwowin’ wiff Mummah. Babbeh gu spwowin an’ see ebewyting…~”
The mare’s Splorin’ Mummah Song filled the twilight air. She walked her little lookie, talkie, splorin’ babbeh back to their herd and their warm nest.
“Hewwo, Speshah Fwen! Hewwo Bah- Ooh. Sowwy. Daddeh nu see dat Babbeh am sweep.” The stallion blushed and his voice turned to a whisper.
“Das otay, Speshew Fwen.” Mummah bent a bit to let Daddeh take their son off her back. He placed him down gently into the pile of tiny foals that made up the fluffpile’s chirping core. The two of them snuggled together, ready to protect and warm each other, their baby, and their friends through the dark time.
“Aww da daddehs an’ tuffies went wiff Smawty to fine nummies. Fine wotsa nummies!” He beamed with pride. “Wha Spesha Fwen an Babbeh do today?” Daddeh licked Mummah’s cheek and smiled.
The mare licked him back and lowered her head down to sleep. Mummah smiled, and in a gentle whisper she just said one thing.
“Spwowe…”
THE END
I didn’t proofread this and typed it on my phone while at work. Have mercy on my soul!
This was entirely inspired by @infraredturbine who posted this prompt and asked what 50-word story we could come up with about this fluffy mom and her baby.
Obviously, this is a bit more than that. Maybe like 55 words. Give or take.
Like I said there, this picture gave me big feels. It made me feel so sentimental. It made me think of childhood hikes with my grandpa.
I got crazy and forgot all about the fact it was supposed to be less than 50 words. But then I was told to just go for it, so I did! Sorry if it’s TOO hugboxy for some, but I was bursting with my emotions! >:(
Again, thanks @infraredturbine for not quashing my inspiration right after you gave it to me!
