Four fluffies meant four appointments with the vet, half your day gone, and a chunk of the fun money you had saved up just went up in a puff of smoke.
Sonic and Coco whined considerably when being put into the carrier, not liking the confined space. Too close to being a sorry-box, apparently. It was still baffling something like that even worked to discipline fluffies. but given claustrophobia is a real condition for people, it made a little bit of sense. Especially for fluffies used to being outdoors all the time.
Hulk and Bubblegum offered no trouble at all.
“Well, so far so good. They’re all pretty healthy. No worms or anything unpleasant like that,” Dr. Chung smiled.
“That’s a bit of a relief,” you sigh. “Dad thought it’d be a good idea to get them checked and to see if they’ve been reported missing.”
The graying Chinese man nods as he pushes his glasses up.
“We checked that first thing with all of them. Coco and Sonic aren’t registered or listed as missing, which suggests they’ve been effectively abandoned.” The two look at you, big eyed and a little sad. “Shame that, they seem like really good pets.”
Hulk and Bubblegum look up out of their carrier. The green earthie is smiling for the first time you can remember.
“Huwk gon’ see mama again.”
“So, how’s the fluffy farm going here?” Kimo asks, back turned to you. The tall Hawaiian/Irish/Japanese/German/Samoan is busy with his yard, speaking through the chain link fence separating your two properties.
“Huwk gon’ see mama!” is heard in response.
Walking to the fence, you hand a bottle of water to Kimo. “I need to figure out how to adopt Sonic and Coco at this point.”
“And the green one? You find his owner?”
“See mama!” rings out.
“Him and the little pink one, Bubblegum.”
Hulk is doing a little dance with Sonic on the grass while singing his “mama” song. For such a large fluff he moves with a surprising dexterity when he wants to. As the sun shines down on them, its easy to overlook Coco wrapped around the younger stallion in the shade.
“He don’t seem quite so thrilled,” Kimo says flatly.
“Seems they’ve been wandering around for the past month, which is apparently a lot of time for younger fluffies.”
“How old is he?”
“Vet said maybe 4 to 5 months.”
“Hell, that’s a few years to a fluffy that young.”
You nod. “That’s what he said too. Supposedly their owner had a medical emergency - a stroke - so those two were left out on their own with nobody to check on them.”
“What’s the big deal then? Why is pinkie there so bummed out?”
“Well, the owner is an older lady and her family has moved her to Oahu to be closer to them at an assisted living facility,” is almost sighed out. “The son is on island right now moving her stuff. He’s coming by tonight to pick them up.”
“Thank you for keeping my mom’s pets safe and fed.” Mr. Tommy Okumura bowed, shaking your hand. He seemed pleasant enough, maybe in his 50’s. Hulk seemed to recognize him unlike Bubblegum.
“T’ank yu Unca Tommeh!” he cheered. “Huwk an’ Bubbwegum see mama soon!”
The two were in a carrier again with an airline’s “Pet VIP” label adorning it. Hulk was right up against the front of it, with Bubblegum laying down in the back.
“Hey Bubblegum,” Tommy said. “Buddy, are you okay back there?”
The pink fluff’s head picked up a little before settling down again. “Am otay.”
“Wai haff saddies, bwuddah… go see mama soon!”
“Bu’ no wan go,” he replied.
Hulk’s mouth fell agape.
“No wan’ weave Sonic an’ Coco” Bubblegum said in hushed tones. “No wan weab hewd.”
“Bu’ mama is da bestest! Mama wub fwuffies!”
“Bubbwegum kinda wemembah mama, but no wan weab hewd,” he says. Then the young stallion’s eyes meets yours. “Wan stay.”
“Well, that was unexpected,” Tommy says, scratching his head.
“And awkward.”
You two look away from each other, thinking, as the two brothers go back and forth about what they want to do. Listening. Tommy reaches for his phone, unlocking it, looking at it. You can’t help but wonder what he’s doing. Texting home?
“Hey, Bubblegum, look at this.”
He walks up to the front of the carrier, staring at the phone through the gate. Once Bubblegum can see, Tommy presses the screen.
“Wub mama! Wub!” cheeps a tiny little voice. There’s a little pink pegasus almost-weanling on the screen, barely any mane on it yet. Its holding onto an aged hand as best it can with tiny legs and hooves. You can see the hand moving from stroking it to tickling its belly as a voice comes in from off screen.
“And mama loves you back, Bubblegum!”
“Dat Huwk nyu bwuddah, mama?”
“Yes it is, Hulk. Say hello to Bubblegum!”
“Bwuddah?
You see a green earthy starting to lick the pegasus.
“Huwk wub bwuddah! So pwetteh! Gon’ be good bwuddah fow Bubbwegum!”
The camera moves wildly until an Asian senior looks at it. Her hair is white and coarse, face well wrinkled but happy.
“Thank you for the new friend everyone. Its such a nice birthday present! And I see the grandchildren gave my new pink colt such a fun name like they did with Hulk!”
Tommy presses the screen again, stopping it. “Do you remember mama now, Bubblegum?”
The little stallion’s eyes tremble a bit before he retreats to the back of the carrier. Little sobs can be heard as Hulk hugs his younger brother. They’d be easier to hear if not for the knocking on the door.
Wait, knocking on the door?
When you open it, Sonic and Coco are sitting outside, carrying a dog’s rope toy in their mouths. They put it down meekly before speaking.
“Can Coco an’ Sonic say bai-bai?” the brown fluff asks.
“Bwing Huwk an’ Bubbwegum’s bestest toysie…” Sonic adds.
Tommy looks at the pair, then opens the carrier’s front door. The four fluffs run to each other creating a large hug-pile in the middle of the living room floor. He pulls out his phone, recording, watching as tearful declarations of love and heart hurties fill the room.
As the fluffs celebrate and commiserate with each other, Tommy pulls up beside you. “If its okay, I can pick them up tomorrow morning.”
You nod, thankful they’ll get one more night together.
((Feedback and comments welcome!))
sonic and coco even say goodbye to them. 
