An entry as part of @mookiedookie’s collaboration project.
Submission [8W]. Prompts were: Pirates, friendship and bits (MLP money currency)
“I’ve found a way to make bathtime more bareable.”
Mabe looked at her husband, Leopold, skeptically.
“That’s what you said last time.”
“Trust me. I’ve got it all planned.”
Veve and Gwent lined up in front of their castle bed with Nelio behind. The three Fluffies waited patiently yet nervously for Mummah and Daddeh to come. Well two of them did at least. Nelio, as always, was beyond such a mundane plain of existence, with the SBS happily chirping in a world of his own imagination. As for Veve and Gwent, they knew what was to come… The dreaded bathsie time.
“Wawa nut ba for Fwuffies. Wawa nut bad fo Fwuffies.” Veve muttered to herself shakily.
“It… It otay wittle bwuddah. Gwent pwotect fwom wawa.”
chirp chirp
Daddeh would enter the room with a charming smile and he was wearing a strange costume. Veve and Gwent looked at the costume curiously. There was something about it that felt familiar.
“Are you ready kids?”
Veve and Gwent looked at each other and they knew what to say.
“Eye eye cap-twain!” They cried out in unison.
chirp chirp
“I can’t hear you!”
“EYE EYE CAP-TWAIN!”
CHIRP CHIRP
“OHHHHHHHHH WHOLIVEINAPI- cough cough Fu-… Fudgiscles that hurt.”
Veve and Gwent burst out laughing as Daddeh continued coughing, and they both realized why the costume looked familiar. It was just like the man on the teebee. The one for that cartoon. Mummah suddenly came into the room with three specific Fluffy-sized costumes.
“So… who wants to play Pirate?”
“Piwate! Piwate!” The two cried out gleefully in unison.
It started with a photoshoot.
Veve, Gwent and Nelio in adorable, Fluffy-sized pirate outfits, standing in front of a toy boat. Just the trio strutting about cutely and making lovable poses for the Villain’s vlog. Mabe snapping a couple of good shots, before pulling out her video camera.
“So cute! Can you two tell me what you are today?”
“Piwates! Piwates! Piwates!” Veve and Gwent cried out gleefully in unison.
“That’s right… Role call,” Mabe said with a smile.
Gwent stepped forward “Captwin Gwent! Am gun be bestest piwate captwin!”
Veve followed behind “Fiwst mate Wewe! Wub piwate!”
The two then pointed at Nelio.
“Special Piwate Newio!” Gwent and Veve cried out in unison.
Cheep cheep
Veve and Gwent burst out into a fit of giggles, before getting back on their hooves and hugging Nelio warmly.
“Aww” Mabe commented “What a trio of cute pirates. Now can you tell me, what do pirates do?”
Veve and Gwent looked at each with perplexed looks, before staring into space ponderously.
“O! Piwates mak singies!” Veve exclaimed.
Gwent nodded in agreement and Mabe grinned.
“That’s right,” Mabe replied, unlocking her tablet.
There was already a sea shanty loaded onto the tablet, and as she set the tablet down, she began to play the song. The sounds of a concertina, mandolins and war drums began to fill the air. Gwent and Veve looked at each other with confusion. It was clear that neither knew what to sing. Of course not, Mabe had not prepared them for this, but she found that Gwent and Veve were far cuter, when they had to ad lib.
The instruments continued to play, as voices began to chant “Yo ho” over and over again.
Surprisingly, Nelio was the first to show initiative, chirping in tune with the beat of the drum. This would motivate Gwent to dance, with the pink Unicorn hopping left and right in line with the chirps. Veve herself had begun to sing, uttering the words “Pi Wate… Pi Wate… Pi Wate” every time the pirates chanted Yo ho.
The pirates began to sing and Gwent would begin to grow more bold with his dance, now dancing on his hind legs, he would hop back and forth, before doing a little twirl whilst Veve began to sing with more passion “Wewe n Gwent am piwate! Pi Pi wate! Pi pi wate!” Meanwhile, Nelio maintained his commitment. Chirping with every beat. It took all of Mabe’s strength not to ruin the video with a squeal of delight and only when had finished by the end of the song, did she allow herself to chuckle with delight.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Mabe cheered.
She would applaud, as Gwent and Veve bowed.
“Gwent wub be piwate!” Gwent cheered gleefully.
“Wewe tu! Wewe tu!” Veve added.
Nelio chirped merrily, as Gwent and Veve ran around him, chanting “Pi Wate” over and over.
Mabe clapped her hands, signalling their attention.
“Okay, then what do you think is next for being a pirate?”
Gwent and Veve looked at each other with excited grins.
“Songies gain?” Veve asked cutely.
“Nope” Mabe replied “Even better… Treasure hunt!”
Gwent and Veve broke into big smiles. Both had watched enough TV to know what treasure meant and with it came excitement.
“Twea suwe! Twea suwe!” They both cheered repeatedly.
*CHEEP cheep… CHEEP cheep” Nelio peeped, mimicking their tone.
Mabe grinned and picked up all three Fluffies.
“Let’s go treasure finding!”
The Fluffies began to cheer.
Bathing Fluffies was always difficult work.
Mabe had no idea why Hasbio had designed them like this, but almost every Fluffy she had met had a very strong aversion to water. Uphie absolutely abhorred it. So did all the Fluffies owned by her family and friends. Same for her Skettiland Rangers. Same for Gwent and Veve. The only exception was Nelio, who not only didn’t seem to mind water, but also seemed to love it, as not once during bath time would have ever seemed to be upset, always chirping happily as she as he was put in the water, but that did very little to help Gwent and Veve with their own fears.
She really did have to wonder why Hasbio had made Fluffies so fearful of water, especially as they were prone to messes and defecated more than any other animal she had seen. Was it to emulate other animals’ aversion to water? But then why did Hasbio make them so messy? A safety measure against drowning? She did hear rumors that Fluffies could drown in an inch of water. But then why did Hasbio make their survival instinct so weak? Was it to test patience and give owners a sense of achievement, when they managed to get their Fluffies used to baths? But who was the challenge for? She had to think that it had something to do with profits.
Regardless, she still had two deathly afraid Fluffies to wash, and she could already feel them trembling in her arms, as she brought them into the bathroom.
“W… Wai Mummah bwing Gwent n bestest fwen tu bathwoomsie?” Gwent asked.
“Nu wook fo twea suwe nu mowe?” Veve added with a tone of disappointment.
Cheep cheep
“Hmm? What are you talking about? You’re pirates, right? And pirates look for treasure in the water.”
Gwent and Veve looked up at her with those absolutely adorable astounded looks. The kind that made Mabe chuckle. She looked at her husband and he gave her a thumbs up. Everything was ready to go.
Mabe placed the three Fluffies on the sink, and began to remove their pirate outfits. Gwent kept glancing at the water. It was honestly charming how scared Gwent was of the water, given how mature he usually acted. Similar to those character tropes of a near perfect individual having a mundane weakness. Still managing this fear was time consuming and Mabe really hoped that her husband’s solution would help her Fluffies overcome their fears.
“Ready to go treasure finding?” Mabe asked softly.
Gwent looked back at her with frightened eyes, making a low whine before looking back at the tub. Veve also looked quite nervous, but Nelio was making calm coo-ing noises.
“Look guys!” Leopold suddenly exclaimed “Treasure in the tub!”
Gwent and Veve peered out from the sink, and looked at the bath tub with darling, curious faces. Roughly one inch of water, lukewarm and bubbling from the Fluffy liquid soap, but what really caught their eyes were the sparkling tokens that shimmered in the light.
“Tw… Tweasuwe?” Gwent asked hesitantly.
“TWEASUWE!” Veve cried out gleefully.
Whatever fear the two Fluffies faced, was quickly overshadowed by these sparkling trinkets. Mabe herself was quite amused. Those trinkets were just toys in themselves, “Bits” as they used to be called. A currency from a fictional show about talking ponies, that she used to watch as a kid, if only her younger self knew that talking ponies would exist in reality. It was crazy how much the world had changed.
“Daddeh, can Gwent, wittle bwuddah n bestest fwen get tweasuwe?” Gwent suddenly asked.
“Of course!”
Leopold would pick up Gwent and Veve, the two practically shaking with excitement, as Mabe picked up Nelio. The SBS coo-ing cutely in her grasp, and began to make delighted chirps as he was placed in the water. Meanwhile, Gwent and Veve were running around, giggling gleefully as their hooves splashed against the water, both chanting “Tweasuwe” repeatedly.
“Alright you two, there’s plenty of treasure in the water, but do you know what to do with it?”
Gwent and Veve looked at him cutely, then Veve pointed at the toy pirate ship at the side of the tub.
“Tweasuwe gu in shippy!”
“Very good Veve!”
“Bestest fwen su smawt!” Gwent exclaimed.
“When picking up the treasure, be careful not to eat them okay?” Mabe reminded them “And be careful not to swallow too much of the water.”
This part was a little worrying. The bit though small could cause indigestion, same for the liquid soap in the water, not harmful if consumed in small amounts, but it could cause a small tummy ache if too much was drunk. Still, Mabe trusted that the two were smart enough to listen to her.
“If you have any trouble picking up the treasure just ask me or mummah, okay?”
“Otay daddeh!” Gwent and Veve replied in unison.
Veve and Gwent proceeded to go treasure hunting, the two carefully picking the submerged treasure with their mouths before scampering up to the ship and placing the coins inside. All under Leopold’s careful eye. Meanwhile, Mabe began to give Nelio a wash.
The tubby SBS was always a delight to wash. Cutely chirping away as she gently scrubbed his fur and his tubbiness did make him quite cuddly to touch, with the perfect blend of soft fur and soft fat. Cleaning him was always easy and in less than five minutes she was done. She handed him to her husband for drying.
“I’ll bring him to the safe room and give him some new diapers.”
Mabe gave her husband a grateful smile and watched as he left the bathroom with Nelio, then she turned back to Gwent and Veve who were both still happily collecting treasure and putting it in their ship.
“Oh no” Mabe said with a flair of dramaticism “Trouble.”
Both Gwent and Veve looked at her curiously as she put on her Hasbio Fluffy hand scrub glove.
“Mr. Glove wants to take your treasure, quick you two, protect the ship.”
The two Fluffies looked at her with smiles before running to the ship.
“Pwotect pwotect!” Gwent exclaimed with a giggle.
“Bestest fwen pwotect wight n Wewe pwotect weft!” Wewe exclaimed with a smile.
Mabe gently held Gwent and begin to wash him with the glove, her Fluffy giggling as he tried to playfully bat Mr. Glove away. Ignoring the water and the soap being poured on his fur. The same was said for Veve and what was normally a forty minute task, would end up being completed in less than ten minutes. The same amount of time it took to dry both Fluffies and bring them into the saferoom. She put the Gwent and Veve down and they looked at her with smiles.
“Can Gwent n bestest fwen pway piwates gainsie?” Gwent asked cutely.
“Wan pway gainsie. Wan pway gainsie.” Veve added
“Haha of course you two, but another time. Now then, I’m pretty sure both of you are hungry, so why don’t you rest for a bit with Nelio and I’ll come back with a lovely bowl of kibbles.”
Gwent and Veve giggled and the two snuggled up with Nelio on the bean bag nap chair in the corner of the room. Mabe turned to her husband and smiled.
“You’re a genius, Leo.”
“Haha I can’t take all the credit. My online friend Mookiedookie gave me the idea.”
Mabe smiled, and looked at her camera.
“If your friend is okay with it, why don’t we turn this to a VIllain’s vlog special: How to bathe your Fluffy with ease.”
Leopold smiled and whipped out his phone.
“I’ll check with them and get back to you.” Her husband replied with a kiss to the cheek.
Mabe smiled and looked out the window. Outside she could see her lovely little neighborhood. Tranquil and serene, yet Mabe couldn’t help but feel worried. The world was getting crazier and more and more people hated Fluffies. She feared for the future. She feared what might come.
She looked at Gwent, Nelio and Veve, all napping sweetly in their adorable fluffpile.
She hoped that nothing bad would happen to them.
