You walk home with Lucas, who hugs your hand the entire way home. “Daddeh, am bwuddah an sissy gon be nice tu Wucas?” You give him a little scratch behind the ears, which he leans into and makes a soft cooing noise. “They’ll love you, little buddy. They might be a bit nervous or shy when they first meet you, but that’s just how everyone is when they first meet anyone.” He smiles, still a little nervous looking. “Don’t worry about it little buddy, with time, you’ll all be the closest of friends! I know how difficult it is meeting new people, so I’ll be there with you every step of the way.” He smiles, a warm smile, not a worried smile. “Tank yu daddeh, Wucas wub yu.”
You see all kinds of people on your walk home. It’s later in the day, still breakfast time but more people are awake and about. People heading to jobs, kids going to class, people eating breakfast on their way to other places, even a guy with fluffies in pet carriers. A kid on a skateboard laughs as you walk by. “Hey nice ass bro. Sick thighs too. Very jiggly, like jello.” You roll your eyes. “Wha dat mean, daddeh?” You chuckle. “I’ll, uh, I’ll tell you later.”
You arrive at the apartment building. “You ready, little buddy?” He smiles at you, with a slightly determined look in his eyes. “As weady as Wucas eba be!” You laugh. “That’s what I like to hear.” You step inside, look in the safe room, and then remember that it’s still pretty early. “Oh. They, uh, they aren’t awake yet. Well that’s kind of anticlimactic, sorry little buddy.” Lucas breathes what you imagine to be a sigh of relief. “It otay, daddeh, Wucas wiww be weady tu meet dem when dey is wakies.”
You decide that, in the meantime, Lucas could certainly use a bath. “Don’t worry little buddy, this bath will be relaxing, you’ll see.” He looks at you, not quite believing you, but trusting you all the same. You place him gently in the warm water, and he instinctively cringes before he touches the water. When he realizes that it’s not cold at all, he actually looks up at you, confused. “Why wawa wawm and comfy? Wawa is cowd an scawy?”
“Well, the water is warm and comfy because warm water helps clean stuff better. Helps break up all the dirt and grime.” You squirt some fluffy safe soap into the water, and wash him thoroughly. You grab a warm towel, and dry him off. He coos as the warm towel is wrapped around him. “Wucas feew su pwetty!”
“Yeah, I bet so, I washed off about twice your body weight in dirt.” You grab a blow dryer that you use for your own hair, and gently dry him off more, making sure to set it to the lowest setting. He closed his eyes and smiled, fluttering his wings slightly against the warm wind. “Wucas pwetend to fwy, daddeh!” You don’t know how much more cuteness you can take, this is adorable. Almost reminds you of Philly, your old fluffy.
He was an alicorn too, one that you had gotten from a friend as a birthday gift. Truth be told, part of the reason you wanted to get this apartment was to give him the feeling of soaring above the buildings. He used to love it. You still miss him sometimes, and you wish that he could have met your new friends.
You’re brought back to the present by someone calling for you. “Daddeh, Wucas tink Wucas dwy now.” You look down, and Lucas has puffed up massively. You can just barely make out his little face in the mountain of grey fluff. “Eheheheh, whoops, sorry about that little buddy.” He laughs. “It otay, daddeh, Wucas jus wooked funny.” He says, staring at himself in a mirror. He then shakes back and forth, returning his fluff to normal. His fluff is still a light grey, but his mane has become a nice blonde color, almost like your hair. “Wucas wook su pwetty!”
“I’m glad little buddy! You ready to go meet your new siblings?” Lucas jumps up and down a little. “Wucas weady!” You chuckle, pick him up, and head into the safe room. The fluffies are just waking up. Johnny tucks his stuffy toy in, rubs his eyes, and looks around. “Daddeh? Whewe daddeh?” Nebula steps out of the litterbox. “Nu wowwy Johnee, daddeh be hewe soon. Nebuwa hewp Johnee into wheewies!” Nebula and Johnny then work together to get him strapped into his wheels, and amazingly enough they manage to get him fastened pretty well! Okay, maybe you taught them how to help each other with stuff like that, but it’s still pretty impressive.
“Good morning guys! I have a surprise for you, so please meet me in the center of the saferoom!” Magnum immediately zooms down the ramp. “Magum wub supwise!” He comes to a stop in front of you, and smiles. Next comes Johnny, who goes down the ramp at a brisk pace, but making sure not to fall. “Wha suwpwise?” Nebula comes in behind him and laughs. “Siwwy, suwpwise is suwpwise!” They’re all at your feet now.
“Alright, before I show you guys the surprise, I have to ask: What do you call a fluffy with both a horn and wings?” The three stop for a second and think, looking slightly worried. “And before you say it, the answer isn’t monster.” They think for a second, talking amongst themselves like a team of some sport you don’t know how to play deciding what to do next, before Magnum blurts out “Wingy pointy fwuffy?” Nebula smiles. “Dat sound wight!” Johnny looks up at you. “Is it wingy pointy fwuffy?”
“That’s exactly right little guys! Now that I’ve kept you waiting, it’s time for you to see your surprise! He’s a little shy, so please give him a warm welcome. Everyone say hello to Lucas!”
You place Lucas down on the floor of the saferoom, and Nebula runs forward to greet him. “Hewwo Wucas! Am Nebuwa! Nebuwa hab pointy, an daddeh make cwown fo Nebuwa. Wucas hab pwetty pointy!” Then she gives Lucas a big hug, which leaves him looking confused, but happy. “Hewwo Nebuwa, am Wucas, an hab wingy an pointy, but am stiww fwuffy.”
Johnny walks up, a little more nervous. “Hewwo, am Johnny, an hab wingies, but onwy dese weggies.” He looks down at his legs. “Bu’ daddeh gib Johnny wheewies!” Johnny sits down, and gives Lucas a hug. “Johnny nu cawe if Wucas hab wingies an pointy, Johnny wub!” Lucas reciprocates the love. “Hewwo Johnny, Wucas tink dat wheewies aw pwetty! Johnny gib guud huggies!”
Magnum rolls up in his car. “Hewwo! Magum name am Magum, an’ hab nu wingies, o pointy, o weggies, but am fwuffy! Daddeh gib Magum wheewies, an now Magum can pway! Daddeh caww wheewies da Magumobiwe, but Magum jus say wheewies. Nu can gib huggies, but can gib widdwe kissies an cuddwes.” Lucas walks up to the front of the car, and boops his nose against Magnum’s nose. “Hewwo, am Wucas, an hab wingies an pointy! Nu wowwy, Magum. Nu nee huggies tu wub!”
“Lucas has been through a lot, just like all of you, so please treat him like a brother.” All the fluffies respond in unison. “Otay daddeh!” You smile and sit in the floor. “Good, now how about a group hug and then we can show Lucas the toys?” They all cheer, and you all hug. It’s enough to give anyone diabetes.
The four fluffies spend the next hour chatting and playing, and you turn on the TV in the saferoom and watch Impractical Jokers while occasionally helping them play with trains or blocks. This went far better than you had expected! Maybe it’s because they’ve all been through stuff, or maybe it’s because you’ve done your best to raise them right. Maybe you showed them some cartoons you found online explaining what alicorns are. Either way, a job well done.
