Arrokoth is at least twice Sundae’s size, but that’s not so scary. Most of the biggest stallions in the mills were nicer to her, it was the little ones that had been most likely to be mean. The first of the two closest things Sundae has ever had to a special friend had been a big earthie with shaggy fluff just like Arrokoth’s, except for being pale blue instead of red-orange. Remembering Number 18 and how warm his fluff had been is probably part of why she volunteers to go first when Spike asks. She can tell that Boss-Mummah is surprised, but she just puts Sundae down and lets her delicately step into the pen, Spike and the others with her.
“Hewwo, Awwo!” Candy calls, like nothing important is happening. “Dis Sundae! She nicie fwuffy, gud at bwockies!”
Sundae has a feeling that Candy is maybe a little bit dummeh, but in that good kind of way that makes her nice to everyone. Arrokoth smiles. “Hewwo, Sundae,” he says, nodding.
She can’t help but be nervous, but he does seem nice. And she always feels safer with friends, the therapy mares gathered close around her. Sunrise gives Arrokoth a hug, and Candy brings over a particular pink ball to roll from hoofsie to hoofsie with the others while Dapple settles in against Arrokoth’s side and asks after his friend Shadow’s foals. It doesn’t real feel like anyone is doing anything, but maybe that’s the point? Arrokoth smells nice, and his presence is solid and friendly. Almost before she knows it, Sundae is leaning against his side, and all that soft red fluff. He’s so warm, and the beat of his heart is so strong and so steady, like Number 18’s used to be in the few quiet moments they could ever steal together.
“T’ank ‘ou,” Arrokoth says quietly.
“Fo’ what?” Sundae asks.
“Fo’ twustin’ Awwo,” he says.
“Awwo am gud fwuffy,” she tells him, and he wags his tail, even though he’s trying to be so professional. It’s cute.
They don’t stay that way much longer, since there are three other mares who need to at least try to talk to Arrokoth. He’s too intimidating for poor Terra, but Dawn is willing to play blockies with him, and Raincloud trots wide circles around him, looking like she’s torn between presenting and running away before the latter finally wins out, and rather than making use of the panic pen, she bolts straight back out and into the arms of her daddeh, a skinny mister who looks almost as scaredy as she does. Arrokoth doesn’t move a muscle, the entire time, and the therapy mares all gather around Raincloud and her daddeh, cooing and reassuring her.
“Hewd haf aww kind of stawwion,” Dapple assures Raincloud and Terra, and that’s a very good point for Sundae to remember, because Crystal, the next stallion to come trotting out, is terrifying. He’s much smaller than Arrokoth, and prettier, too. He’s an alicorn, but that isn’t that frightens Sundae so much. What frightens her is a memory, one that swallows her up like a monster as she curls into a tight ball in Boss-Mummah’s lap, clinging to her.
At least it hadn’t been her first breeding. That, mercifully, had been with Number 12, a golden alicorn with a long, curly pink tail like Sundae. She hadn’t wanted him like a special friend, but he had called her pretty, and been very careful with her and even given her some good feels to go with that first litter. No, it had been after a few more litters, and the rest periods between them, when they had put her in with Number 20. A pretty little shag-coated alicorn, soft pink instead of the silvery lavender color this one is, and even though she hadn’t liked his scent at all, she was going to cooperate because Sundae is a good fluffy… and he had bitten her and given her sorry hoofsies and hurt her special place, anyway! She had had to scree and scree and scree before anyone had come to help her, and that was before she knew how bad some of the humans could be. Luckily for her, the one that had finally come running up had yelled at Number 20 and given him bad upsies and a smack across the face, because Sundae (Number 15, then) is a good fluffy, and has pretty babies.
“Hey,” Boss-Mummah coos, petting her mane, “hey, baby, I’m right here. It’s okay, no one’s gonna hurt you.”
Sundae nods, trying to breathe slowly, like Boss-Mummah has shown her before. “Scawe,” she says. “Cwystaw wook wike meanie stawwion.”
Boss-Mummah nods. “That’s too bad, but let’s just watch, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Sundae nods again. “No meanie stawwions hewe,” she says, to remind herself as much as anyone else.
“No meanie stawwions,” Dapple agrees, coming up beside them with a gently wagging tail. “Sundae am otay.”
Feeling calmer, Sundae is glad to see that Terra at least isn’t afraid of Crystal. Or at least, not as much. She creeps toward him, eyes huge and wondering, and he stands where he is and watches her approach, seeming equal parts friendly and curious. “Hewwo, nyu fwen,” he says, with the same poised tone Sparkle uses.
“H-hewwo,” Terra says softly, still staring at him like she can’t quite believe that he’s real. Sundae has seen a few fluffies call alicorns ‘monsters’, and has heard that it can be a lot worse in feral herds.
“Nu am munstah,” Crystal says, as though he wouldn’t take it at all personally if she did think he was a monster.
Terra shakes her head violently, scampering the remaining few steps to be almost nose-to-nose with him. “Nu am munstah! Am… am pwetty wike fwuffy-mummah!”
By now the other therapy mares have caught up with her, only Dapple remaining beside Boss-Mummah, and soon Terra is playing ball with Crystal, and that’s enough to make Sundae feel a lot better. She still passes on meeting him for now, though. She always tries to be a good fluffy, but Miss Luna and Boss-Mummah both tell her that being a good fluffy means being honest with them about things like this.
