You are a fluffy foal. You know you’re a fluffy because you’re a fluffy, so there’s not much else you could be. You don’t know much besides that, though. For as long as your thinky place could remember you had lived in a weird place with no company outside of the not-mummah milky place that you drank the not-pretty milkies from and the thin blankie that you slept on. You had spent your time in that place surrounded by hard walls and the muffled chirps and peeps of other fluffy foals you couldn’t see, even after opening your eyes.
At first you thought you must still be a tummy baby inside your mummah, but eventually a mean mister bought your Foal-In-A-Can brand Mystery Foal can and you learned otherwise. He had pulled you out of your opaque prison and into the blinding, overwhelming reality of a declining strip mall where there was no mummah to be found, no matter how much you called out for her attention. He had told you your mummah never loved you, that she hated you for being an ugly poopie baby, that she had given you away to humans, and that those humans didn’t love you either. By this point you were letting out burbling cries and trembling in the palm of his hand, trying to hug his fingers for comfort with one hoof and nursing on the other. The mean mister had picked you up by the scruff with his other hand and brought you up to his eye level before delivering the final blow to your tiny heart. He told you that he didn’t want you either, that you had been a waste of his money, and that you were going to go forever sleepies alone and unloved. Then he had left you in a waste bin and walked away.
Your tiny frame was wracked with sobs as you tried to crawl up and out of the bin you were trapped in, desperate for someone to give you huggies to make your heart hurties go away. After a few attempts to climb the sheer sides you had accidentally destabilized the trash you were perched on and slipped, falling further down the pile of waste and winding up tangled in the plastic yoke of a six pack. To you, of course, this had been an experience of being pulled down and attacked by a strange and terrifying monster that wanted to squeeze you to death. So you thrashed and entangled yourself further, the edges of the plastic digging into your sensitive skin and even leaving a small cut on your belly. You were sure you were going to go forever sleepies it no one saved you. Your chirps and peeps got louder and more frantic as your panic mounted.
“Mummahs! Ibey heaw babbeh! Hewp babbeh!”
Another fluffy! She could save you! She could give you huggies and make the mean munstah let you go!
Chirp! Peep! Peeeeep!
Maybe you could guide her over, help her find you! You continued to cry out as you heard someone approaching you, footsteps as big as the mean mister’s getting louder until they stopped and another human face came into view above you.
“Oh my god, you poor dear!”
A fresh pair of hands descended and gently lifted you from the bin, gingerly untangling you from your plastic assailant as you rose.
“It’s okay little fluff, you’re gonna be okay, I’ve got you now. You’re safe.”
“Are they hurt?”
A second human voice, the source obscured by the towering figure now cradling you in cupped hands.
“Mummah Bec save babbeh? Am babbeh otay?”
And the fluffy, below you and more insistent than the humans speaking.
“Yeah, they were wrapped up pretty tight but I don’t think it did any permanent damage.”
You were shifted into a single palm and gentle fingertips brushed across your sides, eliciting a small coo.
“Ribs seem okay. Are you hurt bad, little fluff?”
You shook your tiny head as best as you could. The cut on your belly stung, but some part of your thinky place knew things could have been far worse.
“Thank goodness.”
The second human voice, closer now. A second face came into view, both now adorned with faint worry and relieved smiles.
“Now you see why I always cut those up before we toss em!”
“I do! Poor little baby, you must have been so scared.”
A third hand, different from the first two, came into view and began lightly stroking your mane, slowly and evenly down before lifting and repeating the motion. Between the smiling faces, the gentle touches, and the soothing voices your little heart was starting to calm down. The hammering in your chest and the rapid expansion and contraction of your lungs slowed and you took a series of deep breaths, blinking away tears as you did.
“Mummahs, mummahs! Babbeh otay, buh stiww nee huggies an wuv! Pwease mummahs hewp Ibey hewp babbeh?”
“Of course, sweetheart. Here, there’s a bench just over there.”
After the second human spoke again the petting stopped and you felt the hand you were in moving. The nice misses that had rescued you strode the impossible distance of a dozen meters and sat down before the palm holding you lowered and the first miss’s other hand adjusted you to face another fluffy. The fluffy was a dark moss green earthie with a deep gray mane and her eyes were wide and alight with pure compassion. She sat on her rear with her hind legs splayed out to keep her balanced and her forelegs extending towards you.
“Fank yu mummah Bec!”
She beamed up to her mummah before turning her full attention to you.
“Babbeh! Ibey am su happy dat babbeh am otay! Poow babbeh cwyin gib Ibey wowsest heawt huwties!”
She lifted you as gently as she could with her hooves, which was almost as gently as her mummahs had brushed you, and cradled you against her fluff. Her nose pressed against yours and she murmured a quiet “Boop!” which made you giggle and squirm in her embrace. After a few moments of holding you she raised you slightly towards her muzzle and began licking your fluff, turning you in her legs as needed to clean you up.
“It am otay now babbeh, mummahs an Ibey hab babbeh, keep babbeh safe! Gib huggies an wuv and wicky cweanies!”
She spoke between licks as she worked, leaving you feeling clean and soothed and loved. Your eyes drifted shut and your body relaxed, basking in the blissful peace and comfort.
“What should we do, babe? Take them to the shelter on Meadow and see if they have space?”
The second miss spoke above the two of you.
“We could, they should be open today. But…”
The first miss trailed off, then you heard more words exchanged in hushed tones. You couldn’t make them out, but that was okay. The nice big fluffy who called herself Ivy had finished cleaning you and returned to cradling your tiny body against hers. She even rocked you in her arms and hummed a tune that seemed familiar in a way you couldn’t place.
“Sure, okay, yeah! Let’s ask her. Hey Ivy!”
The second miss called over to Ivy and she stopped humming, her hooves stilling.
“Yes mummah Jess?”
“Ivy, sweetheart. You know how we told you you can’t make babies yourself?”
“Ibey wemembew, mummah Jess.”
Ivy’s response sounded a bit sad, and part of you was aware enough to agree.
“And you know that making babies isn’t the only way to be a mom, right?”
“Yes mummah Jess!”
Ivy’s tone perked up at that, and the little speck of sympathetic sadness at the back of your thinky place cleared up in kind.
“Well, how would you like to be a mom to this foal? We’d have to get them checked out by a vet to make sure we can take care of them, of course, but if they’re healthy enough to come home then you could raise them as your own. Otherwise we could get them to some nice people who could try to help them find another home.”
As soon as she heard the word ‘mom’ Ivy had begun to tremble, and you opened your eyes to see tears welling up in hers. When her mummah finished speaking Ivy’s answer was emphatic and immediate.
“Yes pwease mummah Jess! Fank yu fank yu mummahs! Fank yu! Ibey wan be mummah! Ibey du best to waise babbeh wight, wike mummahs waise Ibey!”
“Good girl, Ivy! You’re a wonderful fluffy, and I’m sure you’ll be a good mother too. I’ll shoot Dr. Kelley’s office a message when we get home and see when we can get us an appointment.”
You couldn’t see her but you could hear the first miss’s smile in her words.
Ivy sniffled, nodded, and held you closer, squeezing you as tightly as she could without using any actual force.
“Ibey wub babbeh. Ibey keep babbeh safe. Ibey an mummahs hewp babbeh gwow up big an stwong.”
“That’s right Ivy! You won’t be raising them alone, we’ll be there with you when you need help.”
There was a gravity to the words they spoke, something about them making you feel even more safe and even more loved than before. The warmth was so overwhelming that you felt something bubbling up in your chest.
“Wub!” Peep! Coo! “Wub! Mummahs!”
