Now, it’s not as if your fluffy has never had a play-date with other fluffies, before. You’re not a dickhead or a complete idiot. If you only own one fluffy, it needs regular interaction with friends, and time in the fluff-park, and stuff like that. Obviously, play-dates at home are better, and not just for alicorns with ‘visible differences’, as the PC kids might say these days, but any fluffy. At the park there’s always the risk of someone’s untrained and/or unfixed piece of crap making trouble, and people do not get these critters their flu shots, even though the ‘human DNA’ rumors are almost certainly true, and the little bastards are a stew of all the usual zoonotic suspects.
No, no, it’s much better to invite a nice, clean, friendly fluffy with good manners to play at your own home, or to go to someone else’s. it’s more trouble, but it’s nowhere near as much trouble as dealing with parent groups was when Kay was little. You’ve just gotta be able to tolerate someone enough to sit on their couch and sip a beer for an hour and watch the game, or whatever. You do a lot of typical Guy Stuff with dads, killing time, and it’s fine. They’re pretty solid guys, no problem there. Really, it was too bad that most of Kay’s little friends are girls, and the ones that have fluffies also have girl fluffies, or you would’ve started there. Might’ve worked better, some of them are closer to the same age.
Petal is so pretty and vibrant that it’s easy to forget that she’s older than a lot of the fluffies around here, and that the stallions saying, “Su sowwy, but Petaw am wike sissy! Pwetty, but nu… smell-pwetty-pwetty,” are using the word ‘sissy’ because they don’t have a concept of ‘auntie.’ She watched some of them when they were foals, and their mothers or humans needed a break. It’s really no wonder it wasn’t working. Crystal is more of a suave man of the world, (for a fluffy), and also, crucially, just met her, so he really is quite taken with Petal. Once you sign off on the paperwork, Connor lets Kay go out and pet Mochi, who really is adorable, Connor really seems like one of those gentle giant guys, all scarred, scary face, six-foot-six of thick muscles… and a complete pushover for his cute little pet. Your brother is like that, so you can’t help but like Connor immediately. The back of the van is full of carriers, other fluffies needing to be on their way, so Kay just tells them they’re good and adorable, and wishes them good luck. You don’t want to let your kid make Sunshine Feels behind schedule, so you pull her back, and wave to Connor as he gets back into the van and backs carefully out of the driveway.
Turning back to the carrier, you see that Crystal has his nose pressed to the side, touching noses with Petal through the clear plastic, both of them wagging their tails, eyes bright. You can practically see cartoon hearts over their heads, and it is just cute as shit. Kay squeals quietly, and scampers over, opening the carrier.
“T’ank 'ou, widdle mummah!” Crystal chirps, stepping out of the carrier to nuzzle Petal. “Hewwo, pwetty Petaw! Whut ‘ou wan’ do tuday?”
After a brief consultation, they agree to play in the yard for a little while, because it’s a nice day. Kay goes to fill the outdoor water bowl, and you figure out how to collapse the carrier, which always takes a minute, because the fucking things are all built different. Should be standardized, but nooo, that would make sense… you finally prove yourself smarter than a pre-fab plastic box for squeaky-horses, collapse the bastard, and carry it into the entryway. You’re making what Kay and Dinah both call ‘dad-grumbles’ about the situation as you stash the carrier behind the bench, but you stop and smile, as you hear the giggling of two fluffies and your daughter. You would put up with so much worse for that kid. Hell, you and Dinah both would probably both let yourselves be skinned alive to keep her from harm, it’s a big part of why you can still be so civil and friendly after the divorce: shared values.
Since you’re not really supposed to drive today, you do have a drink. Fuck it, it’s a nice day, it’s five o’clock somewhere, and you’re not gonna get plowed. It’s just nice, to have the bite of hard cider on your tongue as you sit in the warm autumn sunlight on your back porch, and watch Kay and the fluffies run and play. You’re gonna miss this porch. You’ve been looking at prices in your new city, and while they’re a little higher, you should still be able to find some yard for the kid, the fluffy, and yeah, yourself.
Petal really is fast on those wheels. You couldn’t afford the really good front legs, that bend properly, so there’s an awkward, stiff, rocking-horse kind of quality to her run, and after a long while of it, her shoulders start to hurt. And she has a harder time holding and manipulating objects. You are kinda saving up for the good legs, just a bit here and there, but moving and babies are both expensive. And you know Petal wants babies more.
By the time you finish your cider, Kay has come to sit beside you, and the fluffies are slowing down. It’s starting to really get hot, too. You’re not surprised when Petal comes rolling up, panting, Crystal right behind her. He doesn’t look quite as overheated, but he has shorter fluff, that only makes sense.
“Daddeh! Fwuffies am tu hot. Can gu inside nao, pwease?”
You nod, standing up and stretching, grimacing at the way your knees pop. “Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.”
You lead the way through the garage door, where you have the really intense doormat that cleans off Petal’s wheels and Crystal’s hooves. He blinks down at the little squirts of water on his tiny hooves, and you chuckle. So cute. “Am otay, fwen!” Petal tells him, safely on the other side of it. “Am onwy widdle wawa, jus’ cweanin’ hoofsies.”
“Oh,” Crystal says, apparently starting to get it as he squishes around. “Cwystaw nebuh see dis befowe,” he says, and you feel an absurd satisfaction in helping your fluffy look like the classy older woman she is.
Once no one is going to track or wheel dirt in, you let Petal lead the way to the living room, where she and Kay have made… well, it’s not exactly the fluffy pony version of a man-trap, but it’s not exactly not. Things definitely look and smell pretty, and the finest stuffie-friends, not generally brought out for company, are sitting invitingly on the couch.
Turns out that the new GloBlox are a big hit, each plastic piece glowing one of a variety of pretty colors. Honestly, it looks like it would be pretty fun to get a little drunk and play with them in a completely dark room, maybe put some Monster Magnet on or something. Naturally, Petal and Crystal prefer something less heavy, but thank God for your precious, beautiful daughter, she has weaned Petal off shitty FluffTV songs and at least onto the happiest, most pop-y, dance-friendly tracks by people with names you can never remember. Well, except Taylor Swift. Future archaeologists are gonna think she was a goddess.
So, instead of ‘The Litterbox Song’ on repeat, you get to listen to ‘Shake It Off’ and something called ‘Bass Down Low’ by someone apparently called Demi Levato, as if that’s a name. Still better than The Litterbox Song, though, and it’s really cute to see the fluffies getting along so well.