Thank you @Mecha_Elf92 for the adorable cover art.
Hey! Have you seen the original Hey Sanny! story? I hear it’s better than the sequel.
Your name is Giovanni and you’re a Hugboxer… okay you’re not a Hugboxer. Not fully anyways. You couldn’t love Fluffies like they could. Not all Fluffies. Ever since you adopted Sanny and her kids, you’ve been studying up on Fluffies. You’ve consumed the media, heard the stories from your family, friends and colleagues, heck you even talked to a couple or Fluffies. Those Hugbox shelter ones.
From what you could gather, Fluffies were… well terrible. Just plain terrible. Not all, but… most. Some felt much too needy, others had this air of entitlement, some felt like lazy crybabies, and there were a lot that just struck you as purely psychotic. Now a passionate Hugboxer would tell you that this was not their fault. It was the fault of their upbringing. The Humans who raised him. Well for those people. You would say, you respect their stance and see the validity of their statement… but unfortunately you still don’t have a high opinion of Fluffies. Most Fluffies that is. You do have a high opinion of a particular Fluffy family.
You had four of them. The badass feral mare Sanny and her three foals, the traffic light trio: green filly Mu, red colt Sho, and yellow colt Er. Yeah you named those three. Took you a long time to figure out the perfect names.
How to find the perfect names
“Daddeh gib babbehs namesie?”
“Oh? Err…”
“Yewwow babbeh am Er? Otay!”
“Er wub nyu namesie!”
“Huh? Um… yeah okay if you okay fo sho fo sho”
“Wed babbeh am Sho? Otay!”
“Am Sho! Am Sho!”
“Um… Moo?”
“Gween babbeh am Mu? Otay!”
“Hehehe wub namesie Mu daddeh!”
Yup. Took you a really long time to figure out those names. Really long time. Anyways. Thinking about it, Sanny and the traffic light trio were probably the reason you had a low opinion of other Fluffies. They kinda set the bar a bit too high on what constituted a good Fluffster. Like you could see them being the absolute ideal of a Fluffinator. The ultimate Floofer. The best Fluff McFluffinsons in the entire universe. Scientifically verified… by a leading panel of experts consisting of you, yourself and vous. Totally not biased. Okay, most definitely biased, but you do have reason to believe this. Things that really set Sanny and her kids from most Fluffies.
For example, sketti. You knew it was a Fluffy’s number one meal. Even if one didn’t know much about Fluffies, they still knew that every Fluffy loved sketti. Correction. MOST Fluffies like sketti. But the main point was that you bought some of those canned skettis from Hasbio and gave them some as a special treat. You told your friends about it. One friend did this whilst all your other friends told you that you shouldn’t have done it, because apparently once their kind gets a taste, they will never stop asking.
You have to admit that got you a little worried. So you asked Sanny and the traffic light trio if they were okay only have sketti once a month or such. And you know what Sanny said?
“Dat am otay daddeh. Sketti am yummy, bu Sanny pwefew daddeh nummie wike daddeh mummah’s fwuit sawad!”
The traffic light trio gave similar responses. All three preferred YOUR cooking to the supposed Fluffy drug that was sketti. YOUR COOKING. Every single one of your microwaved meals that you learned the optimal temperature and timing to heat. Or the restaurant takeouts. Or the instant noodles with the perfect water and heat measurements. Or the assortment of snacks that you… Thinking about it. Maybe you should learn to cook. It’s kinda sad that only thing you really make in your kitchen was your mom’s fruit salad. It’d be healthier if you learnt to cook for both your Fluffies and yourself.
HOWEVER, that’s not all your proof. You’ve got more evidence.
There was that time that you took Sanny and her kids to the Fluffernarian. Despite being artificially created life, Hasbio still made them susceptible to diseases? You didn’t get the logic, until you realized that it fell under their keystone foundation: Profit making. Make the Fluffies sick and get a cut off anyone who sells the cure. Big Pharma level shit. You have a conspiracy that Hasbio release themselves. I mean Fluffy influenza? Sounds man made. Same for Fluffy Pox and Flufferculosis.
Well anyways not the point. Point is that you love Sanny and the traffic light trio to bits, so you went to your local Fluffenarian and purchased the full vaccination package, $150 per Fluffy (Same rate for full-grown and foals), as well as those new Hasbio life boosters shots that supposedly made them a little more durable and prolonged their lifespan by an extra decade, $500 per Fluffy… What? You’re a white collared worker in middle management without any dependents, and who owns a house. You have the disposable income.
Anyways, again not the point. Main bit was that there were a lot of injections. Sharp needles. The kind that made small kids cry. And the kind that made most Fluffies scream bloody murder. You know this for a fact. Another family of Fluffies had an appointment before your own. Stallion, mare, and two foals. Holy! Those screams. They screamed so loudly you swore you saw the windows shake. Came out of the clinic crying about how the vet was trying to give them forever sleepies. Buncha drama queens. Terrified the other Fluffies too. Not Sanny and the three though. They were a little shaken from the loud noises, but no protests when it was their turn for shots. You told them beforehand that you were bringing them to the Fluffernarian for their own good, so they knew not to be scared. That’s how much they trusted your words.
As for the shots itself. Well the traffic light trio were still foals, so cut them slack. And even then, they weren’t as dramatic as the previous family. Mu ran to Sanny for a hug, Er made some scawdie poopies, and Sho teared up a bit. But yeah, nothing like the family before, and it probably helped a lot that Sanny took her shot first.
Like a good mother, she took a shot to show the kids that it wasn’t so bad. Stuck her front leg out and said “Du it Mistah Doctow.” The vet stuck her and she cried a single tear, then she said “weal Fwuffies dun cwy” and she took back that tear… Okay maybe you’re exaggerating slightly. She didn’t actually tear up, she winced slightly, then looked the doctor square in the eye and said “Tank yu Mistah Doctow.”
Doc even said this was the first House Fluffy he ever saw that took a shot without a single fuss. Even on par with those tough Farm Fluffies. You’re still quite proud of that.
You could go on and on about how Sanny and the kids were better than all other Fluffies out there, but then you start to sound like those kids describing their OCs, like your neighbor’s kid, Sid. When he came up to you to describe his OC superhero: Dragon Knight, who was nigh destructible, could fly, had super strength and super speed, could shoot heat beams out his eyes and frost breath… wait a minute. That’s just the red, white and blue Übermensch… What were you talking about again?
Oh right, Sanny and the traffic light trio. You love them to bits, but recently you had a little spat with Sanny. Well maybe spat was a bit too dramatic, but still a conundrum none the less.
It all started when your cousin came over. He didn’t actually know that you had a Fluffy, so he was definitely surprised when he saw them, and he made a casual comment about how it must have been expensive to own a Fluffy family. At the time it didn’t seem like a big deal, except Sanny had always been usually perceptive, especially for a Fluffy, and when she heard that word, she asked “expensib” meant. Again, it didn’t seem like a big problem, when your cousin gave her a basic concept of work and money, except Sanny was smart enough to akin work to “nummie finding” and had somehow come to the conclusion that you were doing everything for the herd, and she was doing nothin.
That was the problems began, but you’ll have to admit, it didn’t seem like a big problem at first, because at the start she just did small things like picking up the traffic lights trio’s toys and putting them in the toy box after every play session, putting your dirty laundry in the laundry basket, and helping you pick up any trash in the floor, putting them in a cute little stack at the corner of the room. It was adorable and you certainly felt grateful seeing Sanny help around in any way she could.
However, for Sanny it didn’t seem to be enough. Like you said before, she was unusually perceptive, probably from her time as a forest feral, so she began to notice things. Things like you sweeping and mopping the floor when guests arrive. Things like you tidying your desk and the shelves when your minor OCD began acting up. Things like you practicing cooking and washing the dishes. That’s when things started to get worrying.
You found her trying to use the broom and mop. You saw her trying to climb the shelves to tidy up. You caught her trying to open the fridge to cook. You noticed her trying to climb the kitchen counter to do the dishes. Don’t get it wrong. You found it cute, but at the same time, it did get you worried. Really worried.
Once, when she tried to use the broom, it fell on the floor with a loud smack. Almost hit her. And once when she tried to use the mop, it almost hit one of the traffic light trio. When she tried to climb the shelves, she would usually stack a bunch of boxes and books, and you saw the way her makeshift staircases would wobble. When she tried to open the fridge, you saw a small ketchup packet fall on her head. And once when she had somehow managed to get on the kitchen counter, she had almost slipped off thanks to the wet marble. In every single case, things could have gotten wrong. Really wrong.
You didn’t have to imagine it. There were plenty of videos out there. Fluffy Fails, Fluffing Gone Wrong, Fluffy versus House, a hundred ways to die: Fluffy Home edition, etcetera. Compilations of House Fluffies getting hurt in their home from everyday accidents. Some just light scrapes, most with more severe wounds, a couple ending with death. It terrified you imagining the same thing happening to Sanny.
The broom or mop fell the wrong way and the far end fell right on her face or one of the foals. A bump would’ve been lucky. More likely the damage would be worse. Same if her makeshift staircase finally gave way or if she one day slipped off the counter. And you fear what would happen if a bottle or heavy container fell down while she tried to open the fridge. You were always scared of coming home one day to find Sanny brain dead, or laid upon a puddle of her own blood, or just straight up killed.
It was the reason you bought one of those Hasbio Fluffy panic rooms. A modified dog house, bolted onto a corner of your living room floor. Could house up to two adult Fluffies. All they had to do was press a button and metal shutters would drop to protect them from any ne’er do wells and it also sent an alert to your home. A necessity against home invasions and those abusers who had recently taken into home break ins. But that wouldn’t protect Sanny from any of these potential accidental injuries.
It got to a point where you had to tell her to stop. She was a Fluffy, so she didn’t need to work. Much to your surprise, this would be the first time she had ever talked back to you.
“Nu daddeh! Daddeh am Sanny hewd. Daddeh nu du aww tings. Hewd nee hewp daddeh tu. Babbeh am stiww babbeh su onwy nee num n pway bu Sanny am big Fwuffy, awso nee du ting tu hewp hewd n daddeh.”
She was surprisingly stubborn about this, and you never heard her speak so passionately about it. Definitely warmed your heart, so you tried to find a middle ground. A way to make both of you happy and you figured, why not give her fake tasks. Simple stuff in a controlled environment. Like doing your taxes. (Asking her to write the word taxes on paper, the challenge for her was actually writing the word). Or helping with your groceries. (Asking her to suggest what to buy before you drove to the supermarket, you won’t take them out. It’s dangerous for Fluffies outside nowadays, too many haters). Or forest feral training for her and the foals. (This one wasn’t actually a fake task. It involved Sanny training the traffic light trio in your backyard. Endurance. Speed. Strength. Hiding. Foraging. It’s actually pretty cool to watch).
For a while, it seemed all was good. Sanny was happy. The traffic light trio were happy. You were happy. But as always, Sanny was unusually perceptive, and though it took her a few weeks, she began to notice things. Like when Sho and Mu wanted to play, and you slipped up and said later, because you were doing your taxes, or when you came home after grocery shopping, you came in and noticed Sanny looking at you funny. And one time in the middle of forest feral training you heard her ponder aloud.
“Wai Sanny teach babbehs hao tu wook fo nummies wen daddeh am onwy wan dat can gu nummie finding?”
And then one day you came out of the toilet to find Sanny waiting for you with a cute, angry pout.
“Daddeh am twick Sanny! Sanny nu hewp am onwy du twick hewp!”
You chuckled by accident, which annoyed Sanny even more and then she stormed off, sulking cutely in the nap nest you had set up next to the backyard door (A blanket with some old pillows). She looked really upset, but in truth, all you needed to say was your signature call.
“Hey Sanny!”
“… Yus daddeh?”
You two had a little talk. A heart to heart about why she didn’t need to work. Her and the traffic light trio made you happy whenever you came home. Something nice to come back to, after a stressful day at work. It certainly made her feel better. The traffic light trio as well. And after that talk, you thought that everything was okay.
So imagine your surprise when you came home late one afternoon and as you got out of your car, you were greeted by Sid, who has Sanny in his arms. Sanny herself wasn’t looking too good. She had a guilt look on her face, but you were more concerned about the cuts and bruises all over her body. You immediately knew that she had been roughed.
You got the full story thanks to the recounts from both Sanny and Sid, as well as the CCTV feed from your front porch.
Sanny had snuck out of the house. Thing was, you always locked the front door and there was no doggy door, and your backyard was fenced off. So how did Sanny get out? Well she explained that she climbed the kitchen counter and went out through that window, and she was lucky for her, she landed on the soft pillows of your porch bench. She was really lucky, because you were honestly planning to remove that bench, but laziness prevented you.
As to why she decided to do this?
Turns out, her feelings from before never left. Even after your heart to heart, she still felt that she was not doing enough. So while you were out working hard nummie finding, she decided that it was her job to protect the house. She couldn’t do that from inside. So she went out.
Unfortunately a pack of feral Turd Rats happened to be in your neighbourhood. You could immediately tell which was the Smarty. Little pompous prick strutted up to Sanny like he was the hottest stuff. Like you just knew that he was a spoiled runaway who came from a home where he was treated like a prince and ran away because his owner said no one time. Well anyways Sanny kept her cool.
“Wai am darkie time dummeh mawe do hewe?” The Smarty asked in his stupid nails-on-chalkboard voice.
“Am pwotect hewd housie.”
“Dummeh mawe! Darkie time Fwuffy get nu gud housies! House am fo Smawty n hewd!”
At this point the herd of dumb brats began to cheer and god you actually felt physical disgust in how proud that Smarty was acting. Anyways, Sanny kept her cool.
“Nu dis am daddeh n hewd housie.”
“Dummeh mawe! Am tu ugwy tu hab daddeh! Daddeh am Smawty hewd nao!”
It was clear that even Sanny was taken aback by this level of illogical thinking. You don’t blame her. How do you even hold a conversation with that thing? What was worse was the chortling from his cronies. The little turd rates snickering in the back. And Sanny’s lack of response only seemed to fuel the Smarty’s arrogance, causing it to do that thing where it raised its head in high in that pompous manner.
“Wai dummeh mawe nu sa nuting? Am supah dummeh?”
“Daddeh, babbehs n Sanny nu am Smawty hewd.”
That got the Smarty upset and he pushed his stupid face close as part of an intimidation tactic. One that completely unphased Sanny cause she was a badass, but unfortunately only served to rile up the stupid little brat pig horse, who suddenly got up on his hind legs.
“Worstest hoofie huwties!” The Smarty screamed.
Rule number one when fighting. Never announce your attacks, and Sanny simply sidestepped as the Smarty hit his delicate hooves against the hard pavement floor. Causing the Smarty to tumble to his side in agony. Hah! That was amusing to watch. Even more so when Sanny spun around and bucked the Smarty square in the chest, and causing him to tumble back to his herd. You’d think that the Turd Rats would flee like the cowards they were, but unfortunately three of them came running at Sanny. The Toughies most likely.
Sanny actually put up a good fight. Head butted one in the snoot, and roundhouse kicked another. It was amazing, but unfortunately a three versus one fight was still a massive disadvantage and these weren’t the movies. Soon their numbers overwhelmed Sanny and you actually had to fast forward, as Sanny got piled on by the three Toughies, while the rest of the herd actually cheered like a bunch of psychopaths.
The only saving grace was that Sanny technically had her own Toughies. The neighborhood kids. All four of them saw Sanny being beaten and mobilized. They quickly took command of the situation and pulled the Turd Rats off Sanny. It was insanely how quickly those Turd Rats changed their tune. From beating poor Sanny to all “Nu! Fwuffies am fo huggies n wuv onwy!” This. This is precisely why you don’t like Fluffies. Precisely because of these kinds, and you actually felt livid. As well as terrified. Imagine if the kids didn’t come to Sanny’s aid. Actually you didn’t want to imagine that.
Regardless, Sanny was lucky and she got saved. The first thing you did was take her to the Fluffernarian. Of course you were quick to highlight how disappointed you were in her recklessness. You could tell that she was already feeling pretty ashamed of herself, so you said nothing more, and after the check up, though you did feel a little bad seeing Sanny so glum, you resisted the temptation to cheer her up with one of those yogurt berry shakes she loves so much. You needed to make sure that she never did something so dangerous ever again.
Once you got back to home territory, the first thing you and Sanny did was visit the homes of each and every one of her saviors. You made sure to tell each kid how grateful you were in front of their parents, so they knew what good kids they raised, and Sanny also gave a heartfelt thank you to each kid for saving her.
After that you went back home and the second you placed Sanny on the floor, you watched her cutely scampier into the corner of the living and just face the wall. It’s funny cause you never made her do that before. You’ve never had to punish her before. She just saw it on TV a couple of times, and she just knew that she had to do it. Part of you wanted to cheer her up and tell her that it was fine, but another part knew that she needed this. Consequences and all, especially since this was the best thing that could have happened. It really couldn’t have gotten worse.
It was finally time to meet the ones who could have made it worse.
The kids had left them in the a small abandoned playground at the edge of the neighbourhood. Decided to leave them hanging on the monkey bar by the tails, so they were humble and meek when you arrived. You came up to the little turds and they immediately tried to use the sympathy card, and man the Smarty really knew the words to use.
“Nice mistah pwease hewp Fwuffy…. Am… jus poow gud Fwuffy dat… dat meanie wittle hoomans gib worstest hurties… n heawt hurties tu Smawty n hewd… Nu du nuting jus… jus wan fin gud nesties n nummies dat aww.”
You brought up Sanny and watched his meek and sweet act turn a 180. Suddenly the little psycho was screaming how he was going to hurt Sanny and turn her into his enfie mare. At that point you practically used the Smarty as a speed bag
SCREE-bap bap bap bap.
It was satisfying for a bit, but then you got sick imagining what kind of pain Sanny went through when these little dung gremlins started ganging up on her. So you cut them all free and stuffed them in some box.
You didn’t really like hurting Fluffies, even the terrible kind, but at the same time there was no way in heck that you were gonna let these little crap goblins go back to the wild. So you did the next best thing. Leave it at the hand of the specialist.
The nearest abuse shelter was at least a good fifty minute drive. There was no way you were gonna drive a box full of whiny and smelly excrement equines for that long. Fortunately you had a much closer option.
Agatha Nur- something you kinda forgot. You neighbour. Sweet gal, loves to cook. Most definitely a closet abuser. You know this for a fact. From time to time, you’ve seen her coming home late at night with a box full of Fluffies, but you never see those Fluffies again, and sometimes after a late night doing OT at the office, you drive home and you swear you can hear the faintest of screams coming from her basement. She must have gotten some really good soundproof padding.
Anyways you turn up with your box of foul fecal freaks and you get to see a different side to her usual prim and proper demeanour. It was quite something seeing her eyes of surprise turn into sadistic excitement as you explain the situation, and she practically snatched the box out of your hands. It was kinda hot ngl, and you were tempted to ask her out.
But you had your fears. Agatha had always been kind to Sanny and the traffic light trio, but was she really okay with the four. You didn’t know any other abuser, so you weren’t sure if their hatred for Fluffies was extended to all or selective like you. You feared a scenario where you would be forced to choose between her and the Fluffies. You couldn’t abandon Sanny and the traffic light trio. They were Ohana. Ohana meant family, and family meant that nobody gets left behind, because there was nothing stronger than family.
Well anyways you thanked Agatha as a friend, and headed back home. Sanny was still reflecting on her corner, coddling the traffic light trio as they snuggled around her. It was cute and at this point you had fully forgiven her for the scare. All that remained was the lesson to be learned, so you said you favorite call.
“Hey Sanny!”
“Eep!.. Y… Yus daddeh?”
After that you had a nice discussion about consequences. Possibilities that Sanny had not considered with her actions. Such as what if she had been taken by the herd. Or what if she had passed away. How that would affect you and the traffic light trio. Those kinds of things. You knew she took it to heart. You could see the guilt in her eyes, and she promised never to do such dangerous things again.
And she kept to her promise. Stopped this whole, she needed to be helpful to the herd stuff. It seemed all good, but the thing was, you never really solved the root of the problem, and during the following two weeks, you began to notice that it was affecting Sanny mentally.
It started with little things. Like those times after work, watching the old childhood classics from Disknee or Studio Hayao with the Fluffsters. The traffic light trio were mesmerized, but sometimes you’d catch Sanny looking away. You’d catch a brief look of sadness. Sometimes, Sanny would just stare into space, whilst the traffic light trio played with your old toys. Sanny still did forest feral training with her kids, but it was clear her heart wasn’t into it.
But it only became clear that something needed to be done, when you were in bed. Your Floofers slept in the corner of the room, on some cute but pricey bed that was designed to look like a tree stump. It made them feel extra safe. Forest feral stuff. You don’t believe in safe rooms and all that jazz. Sanny and the trio have excellent spatial awareness and common sense not to need those kind of things, but that’s an unimportant aspect. Main point was that you were trying to sleep and you could hear Sanny talking in the nest bed, muttering softly that she was a “dummeh Fwuffy. Nu gud fo hewd”. It really broke your heart.
And that’s how you found yourself brainstorming on ways for Sanny to be useful without endangering her safety. It was surprisingly difficult.
You couldn’t tell her to look after the traffic light trio or clean up after the family, because she already did that ever since you first adopted the family. It had to be something that really helped. Something that she could do that would genuinely benefited yourself, because you knew that if it didn’t actually help you, you were going to slip up again in some way and she would know. The only question was what could she do.
Actually cleaning? Well you tried that. Those weird clippers that Fluffies had under their front hooves didn’t really help pick up any decent cleaning stuff, like brooms or dust pans. So she could only use her mouth to use things. You tried teaching her how to clean the floor with a wet cloth, but there were two big problems. One was that the bucket had to be placed in the center of the room every time, as it was too heavy for Sanny to carry and if she pushed it, there was a high risk that it would end up toppling over. Two was that there could only be water in the bucket, given that she used her mouth to hold the cloth, so no bleach or other chemicals in the water in fear she might accidentally ingest it, and after a trial run where she tried to clean half of the living room, the water ended up murky, and that just created a similar fear as the chemicals.
So that was a no go.
You did explore another method. Turns out Hasbio had thought of this concept as well, and sold accessories for this. Clothes with those micro fibres underneath, for both full grown and foals. Sold as these adorable vests and cute little hoof socks. It was cute and it was functional. All Sanny and the traffic light trio had to do was walk around the house, or scoot about in their bellies. Really cute stuff, but the problem was that it couldn’t be taken off, so that would be problematic when they had to go to the litter box. Ended up dragging litter box sand along with them. Same for when they went to your backyard.
So cleaning was scrapped.
You did briefly consider cooking, but Fluffies and cooking seemed like the worst combo you could think of. High, slippery counters. A sink where they could slip and drown. Knives were absolutely no good, same for the gas stove, and there was no fix for the fridge issue either.
So, cooking was no good.
Aside from that you really had no idea how Sanny could help around the house. Guard Fluffy. No, Fluffies were the ones that needed protection. Bills? How? It felt like everything was either too hard or complex for a Fluffy. Sure Sanny was better than the average, but she was still a Fluffy and Fluffies were not designed for work.
So the conundrum remained.
You did find a temporary solution. Like they would always say, Fluffies were for hugs and love, and you found that you could make a Fluffy forget about all its troubles with enough affection. You already had a game plan, and the traffic light trio were in on it as well. Morning, you wake up and have a group hug. Bring the lil’ Floofsters to the dining table. A lot of head scratches whilst you all had breakfast.
When you went to work, the traffic light trio were on point. Mission: Make mummah happy all the time. You got a full report from Er. The three would take turns hugging and nuzzling mummah the whole day and when Mummah was looking a little sad, you already told the three what to do. Synchronized dancing. Stand up comedy. Choir-style singing. Truthfully, they didn’t have to try hard. Sanny was a good Fluffy and just seeing her kids try so hard was enough to bring a smile to her face.
Then when you came back from work. You were on point. Immediately swoop the four up for a hug and spend the whole night showering the Fluffies with physical affection and praise. Head pats, belly rubs, back rubs, wittle kisses on their little noses, and just anything that made them giggle with glee. Along with tons of kind words about how much you loved them. Cute stuff. What can you say, you’re a natural Fluffy pamperer.
For most Fluffies this would be more than enough to rid them of their anxieties or other such emotional issues, but like always Sanny wasn’t your usual Fluffy. Even after all that, you would see the occasional downcast look or hear the sporadic forlorn sigh. You also noticed that she would only do it, when she thought no one was there. Seemed she realized what you and the traffic light trio were doing. Like you said before, unusually observant, and you finally realized that this wasn’t normal, even for forest ferals. It was clear that there was baggage. Trauma that she never quite got over, and one that seemed to fuel this desire to be helpful to the herd.
Now you weren’t a licensed therapist, but you watched Dr. Phillip and American Father, so you did have a general idea of what you were supposed to do. In order to understand the problem, you first had to understand the individual, so you started from the beginning and talked about Sanny’s past, or at least how much she could remember.
Turns out she couldn’t remember much. Fluffies did have short memory spans after all, she could barely remember her parents. Which was kinda sad. She had vague memories. Based from her description. One was an Earthie and the other was a Unicorn. Both dark colors naturally and the ones who taught her how to survive out in the wild. You didn’t have much knowledge on what constituted a normal life for a forest feral, but it sounded normal. Small herd. Scavenging for food. Constantly on the move during warm times. Making secure nests and stockpiling during cold times. Pretty normal, so you moved on.
She talked about her special friend. A member of her herd who she knew all her life. Pretty much the childhood friend character trope. Some strong Unicorn named Une. Sounded brave and noble, and definitely sounded like a good father. Before Sanny came stumbling to your property, it sounded like her herd was killed in a wolf attack. The same wolves that had given Sanny her scar, and Une had sacrificed himself, so that Sanny, Er, Mu and Shou could escape. It must have been horrifying to see that and you kind of wish that Une survived. It would have been cute to have the whole family living in your home, but fate was unkind. However, this did not seem to be the source of Sanny’s trauma. So you kept exploring.
Seemed that urban ferals were not the only Fluffies with terrible attitudes. Turns out there were plenty of terrible forest ferals. I mean there was a logic when you thought about it. Survival of the fittest, who was going to survive? The timid Theodore, the stupid Simon or the arrogant Alvin? The ruthless one of course. It honestly was crazy that Sanny wasn’t more cruel so to speak, but again it didn’t seem to be the source of the trauma.
However, you began to make progress when Sanny brought up a rather specific Fluffy. A beige Pegasus named Uwpee. From what it sounded, this was a runaway and though Sanny said that Uwpee was a very good friend, she sounded like quite a handful. Lacking in survival instincts it seemed like Uwpee was completely reliant on Sanny and a poor learner. Only listening to Sanny and her lessons after something bad happened.
Apparently this Uwpee refused to cover her fur in dirt and feces, until they both saw a bright yellow foal get snatched up by some eagle, and Uwpee was apparently quite noisy, until they saw an angry screaming Fluffy get mauled by a bear. The more Sanny talked about Uwpee, the more you had to wonder whether Uwpee was actually abandoned, because she really did sound like a handful. Very bad at foraging until one of the bright berries she collected got her terribly ill. She also sounded kinda spoiled, refusing to forage everyday because she was tired and wanted to play. Like really, really spoiled. You’re not that kind of guy, but you had to wonder what kind of owner this Uwpee had. This owner didn’t sound very responsible.
Back to exploring Sanny’s past, you finally reached a breakthrough when you talked about the night Sanny lost her entire herd. It was a wolf attack. Numerous wolves ambushed them in the night. Slaughtered many and the survivors scrammed in every direction. That was the last time Sanny saw any of her herd, beside her traffic light trio. Real tragedy.
Thing was, her herd was a group of experienced forest ferals. The kind who knew how to camouflage their fur and their scent, as well as to keep quiet during the night time, so was it all bad luck that they got attacked? Well it turned out there was a rather notable event that preceded this event and Uwpee seemed to be at the center of it all. As per Sanny, Uwpee always wanted to have babbehs. She apparently ran away because of this. (That answered your question whether she was abandoned or a runaway). Main point was that all she wanted was babbehs and she finally got them, and she was happy. So happy that she apparently started to sing. That got the other Fluffies happy too, and they all started singing. Sanny tried to stop them, which started a whole argument. A lot of shouting Fluffies… and then the wolves came. After that, you had an inkling as to why Sanny had been acting like this.
This Uwpee honestly seemed incompetent. A Fluffy who didn’t really help the herd, and it seemed that Uwpee was the one to get most of the herd killed with her actions. This seemed to affect Sanny on a subconscious level. A desire not to be like Uwpee for fear that if she ended up like Uwpee she might end up killing her new herd. That was your theory anyways, and it made you curious about something.
The weekend that followed you decided to do something that your stay-in-home ass never thought you would do: Nature walking. You never liked Nature walking. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. No wait a minute that’s sand, but outdoors… ugh. Hot. Insects. Dirt. You’re a stay at home and play games or watch TV kinda guy, but for Sanny and the traffic light trio, you decided to try something new.
The main reason you wanted to do this was because you wanted to see Sanny in her element. See how a forest feral lived out in a wild, and honestly it ended up being cool.
There was a nature walk like a thirty minute drive from your place. Really scenic location. It was one of those lakeside forest paths with some really big trees. Just as breathtaking as some of the sights you saw online or on your video game. For Sanny, it was a familiar setting, and you could see that it brought her this sense of comfort.
The whole time, she would run about excitedly and tell you everything she knew. This tree had sturdy roots to make a nest, this bush was great for hiding, these berries were good to eat, these berries were bad. It was cute and the traffic light trio were loving it as well. Watching all four scampering around enthusiastically, and Sanny really knew her stuff.
Then it was time for the next part of your plan. You told Sanny and the traffic light trio to go nummie finding. Fruits and nuts. Just as predicted, that really brought a smile to her face. The next hour was spent accompanying the four as they filled your tupperware with locally grown natural goods. After the tupperware was full it was time for the next phase.
You came home with your Floofers and the tupperware full and laid the spoils on the kitchen counter. Blueberries, strawberries, lychees (surprisingly), a whole apple, acorns and black currants. It was a lot actually and perfect for what you had planned. After ordering lunch delivery, you set about making dessert. Fruit salad the way your mom used to make it.
Wash the fruits. Remove the inedible bits. Crack open the nuts. Pour a bowl of milk into a pot and heat up under a fire. Once boiled, put the fruits and nuts inside and continue boiling for a good ten minutes. Then pour everything into a glass bowl and pour a small cup of condensed milk. Drop some ice cubes to quickly cool the salad and then once room temp, leave in the fridge to cool.
You finished just in time, with your food delivery order arriving no less than five minutes later. You bought quite a feast. Pizza and pasta from Fluffy Fazbares, one of those new eateries that cater their meals to both humans and Fluffies. Pricey asf but Fluffies have delicate stomachs, so not everywhere is safe for Fluffies to eat. Still, with how pricey the food was, it was kinda meh. You really got to learn how to home cook. In the end though it wasn’t a big deal. It was still a decent meal and the Fluffies enjoyed it. More importantly it was time to move to dessert.
You got out the fruit salad from the fridge and it looked fantastic. Even your Fluffies looked amazed. Filled up five bowls with still plenty to spare and you all chowed down. It was great. Just as good as mom’s. The ol’ family fruit salad recipe with a Fluffy twist. If she was alive, you hoped she would love it, and as you looked at the desert proudly, you looked Sanny square in the eye.
“You helped make this you know, you, Er, Sho and Mu. I might have done all the work in the kitchen, but this was made with ALL the nummies you guys found in the forest. That’s how good you guys are as nummie finders. It was thanks to your nummies that this fruit salad is so good.”
Sanny looked at you with surprise and you saw a tear as she smiled. Soon that smile turned into a big grin and Sanny began to bounce around adorably, as the traffic light trio cheered and praised their mummah. Needless to say, this became a regular weekend activity.
You go to the same place and do the same things but it brings Sanny and the traffic light trio immense joy. You also had to change up your recipe. Having condensed milk every weekend was a bit much, so you started substituting with yogurt. Still good. Smoothies too and you friend, Melf was a baker, so she taught you how to make a pie.
You’ve also noticed that the four had been getting more attention on your nature walks. Regular walkers seeing what Sanny and the foals were doing, and liking it. Hugboxers commenting that they were tempted to do the same. The best was when you got a small group of cub scouts asking Sanny about what fruits were safe to eat and which were not. It was cute seeing Sanny and the traffic light trio give them the tour while they followed with their notebooks. Made you proud too.
Most importantly, Sanny was happy. Truly happy. No more secret sorrowful eyes when watching something with them. No more staring into space longingly. No more self-loathing in her sleep.
It’s night time now. Another lovely weekend. The walk this week was amusing. Some people had asked to film Sanny and the traffic light trio. Imagine, you might be in the presence of future internet sensations. Haha as if. You take a bite of your fruit salad. The traditional way. You wish your mom could have met Sanny and your traffic light trio. You know she would have love them.
You stare at Sanny, laying on her little nap nest, and watching the traffic light trio sleep. They all really are adorable. Sanny looks at you.
“Hey Daddeh!”
You can’t help but chuckle.
“Yes Sanny?”
“Sanny wub yu!”
You smile and take in the scene.
I feel like Giovanni might have psychosis, because he keeps narrating to someone he refers to as the “Reader”.
All jokes aside, this is probably going to be my last Hugbox story for a while, and Sanny is definitely going to come back.
