(Hey guys. I know it hasn’t been that long since the last update, but I was really inspired to make the babbeh chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!)
Chapter 5: BABBEHS
“BIGGEST POOPIES!!!” Sleet screamed in pain, her legs wiggling frantically.
Erik was prepared for this, grabbing the brithmats from the shelf on the wall, and laying Sleet on it. There were water bottles and a shallow bowl. He planned to wash the foals in it. He no longer trusted Sleet could care for them properly. The websites said most of the time fluffies knew how to mother their foals. Luckily for Erik there were plenty of sources to go to when they didn’t know how…or refused to. He pet Sleet’s back. “I know it hurts. The babbehs are coming.” He said reassuringly.
“B-babbehs comin?” The fluffy seemed happy about that until another contraction made her scree in pain, wiggling her limbs uselessly.
The miracle of life was never pretty. It was actually quite messy and sticky. Erik saw the head of the first foal crowning, then it was pushed out. Erik caught it, finding it was a soft brown color, like chocolate. He washed it carefully, finding its tiny tail seemed to be either black or a dark brown. It was pretty, he thought. It was a nice brown. He cleaned the foal off noticing it was an earthie filly. Sleet didn’t have time to notice, as another foal was sliding out. This one was dark, appearing black. Erik caught it, and washed it, finding it was an alicorn! A black alicorn colt with a white tail. How cute. The third one was coming out, and it was bright. Gold even. Erik almost gasped as the gold alicorn plopped into his hands. He could have stared, until he realized he had to clean it. It was a colt and with a silver tail. Another foal was coming out, and Erik had to catch it. A deep brown with white spots and a white tail. This one was a pegasus, and a colt. Interesting colors and patterns. Finally, what seems like the last came out. It was dark green, but it had deep brown spots on him, as well as a brown tail. He washed it, and looked closer. Unicorn, judging by the nub on its head. The afterbirth and placenta gushed out. He’d have to clean that up. He looked over the brood. Two alicorns, and one of each of the three types in what Sleet considered ‘ugly’. Well…this wasn’t going to be fun. But he couldn’t take them away with no explanation. Maybe the love of her children would change her? Fat chance… “Sleet. Come look at your babbehs. You had five.” He said gently as he could.
Sleet turned around, far more mobile, and froze. “SCREEE!” She tried to back away. “Munsta babbehs!” She looked panicked.
Erik sighed. “No. Alicorns are regular babbehs. They’re just like your others.” He gestured to the others. “They’re hungry.”
Sleet turned her nose up. “Nu! Dey ugwy poopie babbehs! Nu wan!” She looked at Erik and puffed her cheeks. “Wan speshul fwiend. Wan make pwetty babbehs.”
Wow. Not even three minutes of peace. “Sleet. These are your babbehs. They’re pretty.” He insisted, but knew he’d have to get the formula. “These are the only babbehs you’ll have.” Not entirely true, as he was considering breeding her again…maybe. Could he really withstand her acting up like this?
“Gib poopie babbehs stompies!” Sleet tried to give the oldest a stomp, and Erik did the only thing he could think of to save the little one. He pushed Sleet over.
“SCREEE! Why huwt mummah!?” Sleet screamed. Apparently she was only a mummah when it suited her.
“You’re not a mummah. Not when you can’t care for the babbehs. With that, Erik gathered up the quintet. He had formula and bottles in the kitchen, but there was a small plastic tub with plush towels in it for the babbehs he may have to raise. He put the small peeping creatures in, and took it to the kitchen, out of the safe room.
He went to the kitchen, and set the tub on the table. The foals were warm, and close to their siblings, but they still peeped in hunger. Erik worked fast to fill up the small babbeh bottles. He sighed as he worked, sad it came to this. He found the babbehs cute in their own ways. Sure the two brown and one green weren’t conventionally pretty, but unusual patterns on two of them made them more rare. He was sure the breeder would want one of the alicorns. Probably the filly. But Erik could have the other. He could probably breed the others with the right person. Finally the formula was ready.
Seeing as Erik only had two hands, he decided to do some creative positioning so all the foals could get fed. He positioned a towel behind the bottles to angle them down. Now all of them could feed. He smiled lightly. The foals were suckling happily, trying to knead, but their legs were still too stubby for it. Erik pulled up a music file he downloaded. A daddeh song, instead of a mummah song. It was a nice stallion voice…or a guy using fluff speak. But Erik knew he’d be the one raising these little peeps. He also emailed his friend, and took a group shot of the babbehs. He explained Sleet’s…less than enthusiastic reception to them, and he had to remove them from her for their safety. That the second and third born were alicorns. As promised, he got the first pick at a discount. Predictably, he chose the alicorn filly. Erik figured it was easier to have an alicorn mother so she had no fear of any alicorn babbehs. And could probably raise other alicorns.
Erik sighed, and pet the little babbehs, removing the bottles when they were done drinking. He got little coos from the blind creatures, liking the warmth of his hand. He smiled softly. This was why he liked fluffies. They were cute. And innocent. Or rather…they were supposed to be. He pet them, humming along to the song so they’d get used to his voice. “I’ll love you, my little fluffs.” He said softly to them. “Daddeh will take care of you.
The next two days were indistinguishable. Erik fell into a routine. He checked on the fluffs once every hour at least, feeding as necessary. He gently massaged their tummies after feeding to get them to go to the bathroom over the toilet or on a paper towel. He cleaned their messes, and let a daddeh song or nice soothing music on for them. They were in a container that was lined with super soft fluffy safe towels. This container often went wherever Erik went in the house.
As for Sleet…Erik was cold with her. He cleaned the safe room, her litter box, and fed her…but Sleet refused to feed or see her babbehs. She demanded speshul huggies so she could have more babbehs. She didn’t seem to notice her teats drag against the ground. Erik had mentioned it, but Sleet freaked out, saying she needed miwkies for her pretty soon babbehs. The babbehs which may or may not come, depending on if Erik thought he could handle this again. When he looked at Sleet, he now felt disgust where there was once love. He saw the ugly side of her personality, and it wasn’t going away! He thought after the pregnancy was done, she’d level out…but no. She was worse, if anything. She acted like an entitled mother, and didn’t even ask about her progeny! She couldn’t care less about them, and it broke Erik’s heart.
He was bound to screw up eventually. His coldness towards her, and having to wake up every few hours for the fluffs…he forgot to lock the baby gate in front of Sleet’s safe room once. Erik had the fluffs in the living room, out of the container. He let them on different soft surfaces to change the bedding in their container. He tried to make sure they emptied themselves, but accidents happened.
Sleet snuck out of the safe room to see the gate partially open. “Hmph. Dummeh daddeh nu wet Seet splore anymowe…” she grumbled. She went into the living room to see the dummeh and munsta babbehs. She scowled, puffing up her cheeks. “Aww stoopie babbehs fauwt! Nu be pwetty fo Seet!” She stamped a hoof. One of the ugly babbehs, the poopie brown one, started to chirp in fear from the loud, bad voice. This seemed to further enrage Sleet. “Stoopie babbeh too woud! Qwiet! Wisten to mummah!” That didn’t work, so Sleet stomped over, raising her hoof.
Erik had been just pulling some soft towels out of the dryer when he heard the dread sound. A tiny little ‘Screeee!’ He rushed upstairs to see Sleet, her hoof stained with blood. Erik was enraged, and literally kicked his fluffy off the little ones. He knelt hurriedly to check. The plain brown filly’s front right leg was pulverized. Unsavable. He glared. “Dammit, Sleet. WHAT DID YOU JUST DO!?” He yelled. It might be the only time he yelled at his fluffy. Sleet did scaredy poopies, wide eyed and teary from the kick and the yelling. Erik made a choice right then and there. He had to make sure this never ever happened again. He carefully put all the fluffs in the carrier, being extra careful with the injured one. He grabbed Sleet by the scruff, practically tossing her into her sorry box, and took them both to the car. He had to head to the vet. More accurately, a fluffmart vet.
Erik drove as fast as the speed limit would allow, but at the same time every pained cheep from the little brown filly broke his heart. “I know it hurts, sweetheart. We’ll get you help soon.” He said. He heard ‘huuhuus’ from the back from Sleet, but he ignored them. They pulled up to fluffmart in the late evening. Erik hurriedly explained what was wrong, probably sounding a bit panicked. He got his point across well enough, and was taken into a room. He lifted the little brown filly out of the container, his heart breaking at those pained cheeps.
The doctor didn’t need to look long. “She’ll need it removed. There’s no way I could splint that. It’s shattered.” He said.
Erik felt his eyes tear up. “She’ll still be able to walk and play, right?” He asked.
The doctor looked over the filly. “I think so. She’s very young. She might be able to run with some practice. I’m sure there’s also some DIY prosthetics.” He said. He got a scalpel, a lighter, and a tube of instaheal gel. “This will be unpleasant for her, but so long as the wound is taken care of, she won’t remember ever having a leg. She may think she was born without one.” The doctor was quick and efficient in slicing the leg off. She peeped and screed in distress while Erik tried to keep the others calm. They were cheeping in fear, hearing one of their siblings in distress. They smelled blood, and didn’t know what it was. They only knew it was bad. The doctor used the lighter to cauterize the wound. It wasn’t an official piece of medical equipment, but it was just small enough to work. The instaheal gel was dotted on, and the doctor sighed. “There.” He said. “Other than that, she appears to be in good health. As I understand, you’re raising them by hand? The mother wasn’t able to?”
Erik’s face tightened, and he pulled Sleet out of the sorry box after the foals were safely out of the way in the container. “This one is the mother. She apparently hates them and thinks they’re ugly.” His voice was ice cold. “She got out of her safe room and stomped on her foal’s leg. I can’t imagine what she was thinking.” Erik explained the entire thing. From how she changed from a loving fluffy to a horrible bitch mare. What he’d been advised to do by his friend, and how he thinks she could have gotten out.
The doctor nodded. “Unfortunately motherhood changes some fluffies. Hasbio always meant to work on that, but we know how that went.” He sighed. “Unfortunately there’s no way to get her back to how she was. She’ll always resent those fluffies. Even if she had some foals she thought were pretty, she’d neglect the rest of them.” He knew it was unfortunate, but it was part of the truth to give the bad news to owners.
Erik felt his heart break. His sweet little fluffy was no more. “I…I need to make sure this NEVER happens again.” He said. His hands stilled, and he met the doctor’s gaze.
“Pillow her.”