Saturday morning and that meant two things: Tons of cartoons and lots of sugary cereal. This was Luna’s most bestest favoritest day of the week. Heck, she was even up before mummah who got to spend all day working from home. Working from home? More like ‘gib Luna attention time’. That’s how the white and gold mare saw the situation at least.
Luna had her own safe room though she didn’t always sleep in there. At times, she slept on mummah’s bed and cuddled up on her and snored in her ear. Her mummah, Valerie, knew exactly how she got on a Saturday morning though. Had exiled her to the safe room to sleep all alone on her cushion bed. Yet now the troublesome creature had eased her mummah’s door slightly ajar. It never closed properly which was pretty handy in this situation.
Creeping up to mummah’s bed, her hooves sneak-sneakily eased up the Fluffysafe Staircase which led up to the mattress. Plopping down onto her tummy, Luna weasel wormed her way across the sheets. Wriggled under her mummah’s comforter.
Continuing to slither her way up to where mummah lay, she giggled. Suuuuu sneaky. Once she got up at Val’s head, she popped out of the comforter and grabbed a big mouthful of mummah’s messy hair! Gave soft tugs that didn’t hurt but definitely caused mummah to wake up.
“AAAAHHHH!” Valerie screeched in the moment before sleep and the waking world where she didn’t know it was a fluffy pony currently on top of her. For one split moment, she thought monsters were real.
Stamping her hooves on mummah’s chest, Luna waggled her butt in a sassy fashion. “Mummah! Mummah! Mummah! MUMMAHMUMMAHMUMMAH!” Valerie tried to push the mare away. Luna flattened down and squealed for attention.
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Instead of trying to fight Luna to leave her alone (it was impossible) Valerie instead opted to carry her out of the bedroom. Slung against her side like a loaf of bread, naturally. Luna’s little hoofsies scrabbled against the air constantly as if she were running in step.
“Ceweal nummies time! Cawtoons! Mummah! Wub!” Cereal. Right. Setting Luna down on the tiled kitchen floor, Valerie sleepily opened the cabinet and pulled out a box of King Vitamin cereal.
Was Luna calm during this process? No. Of course not. While mummah was pouring cereal into her dish, she’d excitedly headbutted the trashcan and knocked it over. Trash spilling out was the result of course and Valerie gave an exasperated hiss of breath.
“Luna!” She spat out at the fluffy, too busy pouring milk into the dish to immediately stop her. Giggling, Luna grabbed up a discarded banana peel and put it on top of her head.
Hopping out of the garbage, she stuck her tongue out at mummah. “Wook! Am nana!” Taking the dish of cereal in one hand and flicking the banana peel off Luna’s head, she led her back to the safe room where by all rights she SHOULD still be sleeping in. Or simply playing until Valerie had woke up.
The television happened to already be on, showing a cartoon called ‘The Adventures of Dynamite Dan’. It was about a fluffy who lacked any legs and blew himself up to save the day every week. Though the violence was extremely slight and cartoonish, Val kind of worried about what kind of an influence it might have over Luna. Well. It’s not like she could suddenly blow herself up, so whatever.
Setting the dish filled with King Vitamin down to the floor as Luna pranced around with giggles, Valerie raised an index finger up to her.
“Luna, I need to go get started with work. Since you woke me up so early. Maybe I’ll be able to finish up quickly and THEN and only then will I be able to play with you. So…”
Oh. Of course. Luna wasn’t even listening. She’d instead stuffed her face down into the bowl of kibble and was gobbling up cereal while watching the television. Her eyes were crossed and looking off in two different directions and she kneaded the rug in front of her comfortably with both front hooves as she pigged out.
Sigh. Val would just need to remind her, GENTLY, about what she’d just said when she inevitably came calling to her office.
++++
Luna didn’t even notice that her mummah had left the room. Gobbling down cereal with great ferocity, she only let the surrounds of her safe room become clear after it had all been demolished. Bits of King Vitamin clung to her face.
“Dennymite Dan am suuu coow.” She whispered to herself while watching the cartoon. The daredevil turned superhero was currently saving a crate of babbehs from the main villain of the show, Dr. Meanie.
As if to show Valerie’s suspicions correct, the mare began to try and explode just like the cartoon character. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure how to do it. Taking a deep breath, she held it in and focused all her might. Shook slightly. Imagined EXPLODING.
TOOT!
Of course that didn’t work. Before she could take another breath to try again, Dynamite Dan cut away to an emergency broadcast. Luna knew this because a robotic voice kept saying ‘EMERGENCY BROADCAST’ over and over again.
Eyes growing wide, she watched the screen. It was shaky cam, a fluffy strapped with a Go-Pro traipzing through a backyard.
“Hewwo, dis am Tuna! Am bibfootin’ huntin! Am bou’ to catch da bibfoot!”
Despite the fact that fluffies couldn’t read a small infographic of a bigfoot silouette along with the words ‘SQUATCH WATCH’ appeared in the corner of the screen.
Gasping, Luna scooted super close to the screen. Was Tuna about to catch the legendary cryptid? As he poked around weeds and discarded toys in his backyard, Luna caught sight of a shadowy figure before…
The transmission cut out. The emergency broadcast ended and FluffTV immediately went to an episode of BABBEHS!
“Waow.” She mumbled to herself. If that wasn’t proof he was real (and could be caught) then what was?
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Luna hated BABBEHS! You know who liked that show? Her snoot of a sister. In fact, she was likely watching it right now. So with that, she was done with the teebee for now.
Stepping over to her toy closet, she got out her essential supplies. The bibfoot hunting kit consisted of: A butterfly net, a duck call that Valerie had told her was for sasquatch, and a small plastic box with a button on it. If she pressed her hoof on the button, a display on the front would flip around. One screen showed nothing, another showed a bigfoot silouette. This was an important gadget.
Collecting all her stuff up, she stepped out into the hallway and went frolicking right into her mummah’s home office.
Valerie was interrupted mid coffee sip with a loud report from the duck call. Another blast of it. Coffee mug quirking in her hand, she turned to Luna.
“Luna, mommy’s working. Go…”
Another rip of the call before Luna let it fall from her mouth. “Mummah! Am goan catch bibfoot ‘fo weaw! Hewp Wuna! Wet’s gu!”
Frowning, Valerie shook her head. “Later, Luna! Now go play. I need to get this done!”
Staring at her owner with wide eyes, Luna considered it for a moment before wobbling toward her and smacking the butterfly net down on her with a giggle. “Mummah! Nu am wowk time! Am pway time!”
To this, Valerie attempted to ignore her. Huffing, the mare poked and prodded her with the butterfly nets several times. Stamped a hoof down. Walked over to a waste basket and kicked it over, sending balled up paper and plastic water bottles out.
“Mummah! Mummah! Mummah! Mummah! WOOK AT WUNA! Pwease! Wan hunt bibfoot! Pwease! Wook! Dancies! Wook! Eeeeeee! EEEEEEE! MUMMMMAAAHHHH!”
Before Valerie even knew what she was doing she wheeled around in her office chair and grabbed Luna by the nape of her neck. Positioning her quickly, she slapped a hand right down on the fluffy’s rump. It wasn’t hard. Just a small ‘pap’ that barely registered as more than an especially forcefully pat.
Yet Valerie pulled her hand away and released Luna’s fur. Held her palm out in shock as if she’d just touched a red-hot pan.
“Luna, mommy’s…” She tried to get out but the fluffy was already scampering away with wails, abandoning her toys.
+++++
Running her way into the safe room, she dove face-first into the cushion bed that she was often snoring on throughout the day. Whimpered, hooves digging into it, before bursting out into horrible little sobs that shook her body with the force of her emotion.
That was the first time anyone, let alone mummah, had ever hit her. The fluffy didn’t understand it. It scared her.
Did mummah hate her now? No more love? No more huggies? Was she a bad fluffy?
Luna imagined mummah throwing her out. She had dark visions of wandering the streets with a little tin cup begging for kibble and riding a train.
Her butt hurtd. Not her physical butt. The butt of her soul. Why did mummah hit her?
+++++
Standing outside of Luna’s door, Valerie listened to her beloved pet sob. Waited, patiently, until they started to tamper down and instead become hiccuping whimpers. She needed that time to get the emotion out before being talked to.
Stepping into the safe room quietly, the woman approached her mare. Crouched down, gently ran a hand over Luna’s back. The fluffy flinched which made her heart sink like a stone.
“Luna. Mommy’s sorry for hitting you.” Val knew that it hadn’t physically hurt. Still knew enough about fluffies that they took everything deeply and to heart.
Luna didn’t answer her, instead sniffling in response. This let Valerie continue on. “I was extremely frustrated with you. You’ve been very bratty this morning. But that didn’t make me hitting you right.”
It sure wasn’t right. Other people were content with treating fluffies like objects to force into ‘proper’ behaviors. Beating them or yelling at them didn’t work. It didn’t do anything except make them scared and carve out a little piece of their innocent soul. They were like children. Would you hit a child for acting up?
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Val knew the answer to that for some people was ‘yes’. Those people were rotten though. To the core. “I’m sorry, Luna. Can you forgive me?”
Shifting on the cushion bed, Luna looked up to her owner with eyes that were red and scratchy from crying. A sticky nose. Bits of King Vitamin still on her face. Holding her legs up, hooves waggling toward Valerie, she initiated a hug that was soon given. Val snugged up her friend and soothed a hand against her back.
“I love you, Luna.” She told the fluffy. If you could get forgiveness from anyone or anything, it’d always be one of these little fluffballs.
