“They say that money cannot buy happiness, however what it can buy is some pretty damn good entertainment” These were the words that Maxwell Heartman’s father said to him time and time again ever since he was young. For the Heartman Family, money has been no issue thanks to generations of hard work, dedication, and investing in the stockmarket with Maxwell being the culmination of his bloodline’s efforts. Fast cars, beautiful women, and private island vacations costed him nothing but his pocket change, and over time these luxuries began to feel mundane and leave the multi-billionaire feeling jaded.
Like many whom had finally tasted success and ended up becoming trapped within their gilded cage, Maxwell had his vices to give his life texture and meaning. For most, it was substance abuse such as hard drugs and alcohol or attempting to continue climbing the non-existent social ladder by purchasing objects of great rarity such as art, high-end vehicles, and jewelry just to name a few. For Maxwell however, he found his purpose with fluffies, the cute biotoys that took the world by storm years ago with him spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on property, food, and housing for the abandoned and abused.
Although he was practically made of money, the amenities he gave them were fairly bare-bones as each fluffy was housed in what was basically a hand built chicken coop that had only enough room to lay down and sleep in along with a dense blanket to keep themselves warm. Outside was a vast open field filled with balls and other such toys along with a feeding trough and watering hole which were checked and refilled daily. Of course, protective measures were taken as well such as a six-foot electrified fence and motion cameras to ensure that no one got in or out of the pen.
From the outside looking in, people just assumed that he was some rich nut who really liked fluffies and decided to treat the ones that he found to a life of luxury. Some locals even brought their unwanted fluffies to him in the hopes that he would take them to which most of the time he would and even give them a few bucks as compensation. This made him enemies with many shelters but among the community at large he was martyred as a saint, at least the one that didn’t know about his ‘show’ did that is…
In reality, he was a board opportunist whom managed to find a way to entertain himself and make money doing it through the internet. Deep in the bowels of the world-wide web, he took on the name of ‘The Game Master’, operator of the extremely popular web show simply known as ‘The Fluffy Games’ in which several fluffies competed against each other in games and challenges until one emerged victorious. For the lucky winner, they were promised a life of luxury complete with their own small house, a designer special friend made to their liking, and all the sketties that they could eat.
Having been collecting and breeding foals for the last three months, it was time for the games to begin once more. Heading into the surveillance room, Maxwell donned a headset and grabbed a retro-styled microphone from a nearby desk “Good morning my fluffy friends! This is Maxwell Heartman speaking, though most of you must know me as ‘Daddeh’. Today is a very special day for all of you, it’s ‘Game Day!’ In just a few minutes, I will come and explain the rules and prize to the winner! Good luck and let the best fluffy win!” He says in his most cheerful voice before turning off the headset, rolling his eyes, and grumbling. This always was his least favorite part of the ordeal.
Outside meanwhile, the fluffies were ecstatic, they were told about ‘Game Day’ when they first arrived and always wondered what it was about and they catered amongst themselves either saying how happy they were to finally get their play or ‘practicing’ by using toys or running around the yard playing tag.
Soon, a large moving van came to drop off Maxwell along with a small wooden stage made of pallets and a number of guards carrying fully automatic weapons. Fearing the giant ‘vroomie monster’, the fluffies cleared out of the area and allowed them inside before dropping their things off and backing out. Whilst his podium was being set up, Maxwell greeted the fluffies either by petting them with a gloved hand or picking them up for a few moments before putting them down and doing the same with another.
Finally, everything was set and Maxwell ascended the stairs whilst his guards ensured that no fluffies attempted to climb up and get near him. Currently, he was dressed in a white tux, tie, and hat which were accented by a black hat band and undershirt. In one hand, he held a large golden cane which he used to support part of his weight whilst in the other was a megaphone in order to make sure that all his fluffies heard him.
“Welcome, welcome, my fluffy friends! It has been quite some time since I have seen you all. Tell me, how are you all doing today?” Maxwell asks in a chipper tone only for all of the fluffies to answer in unison ‘Guuuud’ like a class full of young children addressing their teacher. “That’s fantastic! Now then, I’m sure you’re all eager to play so I’ll keep this as short as I can. Today is game day, each of you will participate in a number of games until only one remains. The winner at the end of the day will get many prizes; Their own home, The prettiest ‘Special Friend’, and all the ‘sketties’ that they can eat!” He announces, causing a roar of cheers to sound off from the fluffies along with a few attempting to pre-game by hitting others before Maxwell managed to calm them down with a fair bit of help from his guards.
“The first game for today is Tag, and to help me everyone please welcome our last winner Gavin!” Maxwell says, clapping his hands whilst the other fluffies clapped and cheered watching as a small, pure black stallion with a slicked back white mane was brought out on a purple pillow with a golden trim and tassels.