Hello, all! While I come up with new ideas for The Mill, I decided to work on the backstory I’ve been wanting to do. This is when Gavin, the CEO, is a new aspiring fluffy breeder. This is when he thought the fluffies were all rainbow and sunshine. Enjoy and I look forward to your feedback.
Part 1
Gavin smiled as he looked over his garage. This was only the start. He heard about the other backyard breeders and mills…he was different. He’d be different and successful. All these mills that churned out fluffies and had miserable product…he’d show them all. He could produce great fluffies AND keep his breeders happy! They were practically little kids! How hard could it be?
His stock…they were carefully chosen. No alicorns; he couldn’t get his hands on any and not from lack of trying. No matter. He’d breed some along with the rest of the amazing colors he had. So far he had three girls and three boys.
First for the girls he had Candy, who was a soft pink Earthie with a white mane. She was excitable, though she was sometimes a bit greedy with food and had to be reminded to share. She had to be paired with a stud that had unique features since she was an Earthie. He fur was long and silky, something he hoped would translate to her foals.
Next he had Princess, who was a white unicorn with a rainbow mane. She was beautiful in all ways and knew it. He had to remind her sometimes that being beautiful did not make her bestest and did not mean her babbehs would be bestest. All babbehs were good babbehs. Though Gavin didn’t know if the bad colors were worth keeping for breeding stock. Maybe he’d just give them away? His niece had been wanting a fluffy but her father didn’t have the money to buy from one of the stores. He could take a light loss in profit from fluffy stuff and maybe have her help out.
His final girl was Darling. She was a pegasus with curly fur. The colors were nothing special; blue with a light green mane, but the curling fur was the real prize. It was very rare and Gavin was lucky to have come across her. She was a feral, as there was no way he could have afforded a curly haired fluffy otherwise. He had cleaned her up and kept her pretty, though she had anxiety about being clean, especially when it came to using the litter box.
The males were just as worthy.
His first male Prince had amazing colors. Silver with a gold mane. He was a unicorn and He enjoyed prancing around. Gavin couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the light or not, but he could swear he sometimes saw the fur shimmer a little, like some strands were glittery. Prince didn’t like being touched by people, so he could never get close enough to tell for sure. He tried to reduce the fluffy’s fear and stress, so if one didn’t like be to touched, he’d try to touch him as little as possible.
His next fluffy was called Valor. He was an Earthie, Violet with a darker purple mane. He was large, even for an Earthie, and strong. His fur was soft and dense…the best he could relate it would be to a chinchilla a teacher of his had as a pet. Yet Valor was insecure about his colors, always getting into arguments and screaming he wasn’t a mare. He got into fights and earned a lot of time in the sorry box that way.
His third and final stallion was a pegasus fluff who was another with unremarkable colors but remarkable features. Buddy. He was brown with tan splotches and a tan mane. He was the one who argued with Valor most, even more insecure about his ‘not pretty’ colors, even if Gavin convinced him that his splotches made him special. He was usually the one left crying after arguments.
His setup was pretty good. The pens were on either side, a long pathway in the middle. The wall farthest from the door had the fluffy’s food. There was unopened foal food and soon mummah kibble. What was being eaten was the regular, nutritious fluffy kibble. Sketti flavored. In the cabinet above was canned sketti. He learned to keep that out of sight or the fluffies would keep begging and kicking up a fuss. Gavin supposed he understood…it was like dangling a candy bar just of the reach of children and saying no candy for them until he said so. In the cabinets on the right of the food was the toys for the fluffies. They got rotated out regularly so they fluffies could get new stimulation and the scents of the opposite sex. To the left cabinets were the punishment tools. He had six sorry boxes on the rare chance he’d have to punish all the fluffies at once. There were a few sorry sticks, a sorry stick jr and sorry mush. There were a few foal sized sorry boxes as well, all the foal punishments still in boxes. He still had no foals, but he was close. He’d just gotten his full stock together and they would be breeding soon.
The pens themselves were more like large boxes. Each fluffy had their own space for beds, plywood dividers between their fluffy, comfortable beds. Each bed had an embroidered name tag on it, the color of the bed matching their fluff color. Other than that, the mares shared a communal space, and the stallions shared a space. Toys were shared, litter boxes were shared. The fluffies sometimes got to see the counterparts when they were taken to the examination table near the front due to being carried. The table was for veterinary purposes, making sure his fluffy was healthy, or when he had to call in a proper doctor for them.
They were ready. He’d waited three years since his latest fluffy just to ensure they were all old enough. He’d read up on bitch mare syndrome, and he wasn’t going to risk it with these fluffies by breeding them too early. Besides, waiting until they were the right age was the best way to get good foals. He just had to figure out who got matched with who. He had a spreadsheet to keep the pairings straight so there was no inbreeding. While fluffies were averse to this, it seemed to last only a generation or two. He was thinking of pairing Candy with Buddy. Princess with Valor. Prince with Darling. That should spread their features nicely. While Prince and Princess seemed to be a natural match by name, he didn’t want to breed type with type. He was going for alicorns, but knew that wouldn’t be easy.
That night he was on the phone with his brother Tom.
“Gavin, I know you’re into this, but face the facts. So many backyard breeders have failed.” Tom said to Gavin, pleading once again for him to give up on this harebrained scheme. “You’re taking out loans to make this happen, but what if it never does?”
“And that’s why I’ll succeed. I’m not gonna be a backyard breeder forever. Those guys who failed had sh-tty conditions and were teenagers. I’ve been in sales for three years! My fluffies will be happy and healthy. I’m saving up for a warehouse. This will work, man. I can feel it.”
Tom sighed. “That’s another thing. Keeping them healthy in a breeding operation? What happens when they have to give up their fluffies? What if you get an alicorn? I hear fluffies hate alicorns.”
“I’m teaching them to like them! The only one still afraid is Darling.” Gavin saw he was getting nowhere with Tom. “You’ll see. It’s gonna work. I’ll even let you be a manager when this thing gets off the ground.” Gavin hung up. Tom…he was older but always acted like he knew better…Gavin knew in his heart that this would work.
“Alright, fluffies.” He said the next morning as he came in. “I know I’ve been promising it, but today is the day!”
The mares and stallions both gasped.
“Babbehs?” Candy asked, her front hooves tapping in anticipation.
“Gud feews?” Valor asked with wide eyes.
“Yes to both.” Gavin said, smirking a bit to hear the male fluffy was more concerned with his desire instead of foals. Ah well. “Alright, we’ll do this one at a time.” He said. Opposite of the exam table in the front of the garage was a comfy little pen to set the mood for the fluffies. “First up we’ll have Candy and Buddy.” He said. He retrieved Candy first, who was wiggling in his grasp. He carefully grabbed her by the sides before supporting her from underneath. “Woah there, girl. Don’t squirm so much. I would hate to drop you.” He said with a light laugh.
Candy eeped, but went close to Gavin, hugging him.
“Dank you, daddeh! Wan babbehs su badwy. Wan babbehs mowe dan anyfing ewse!” Candy babbled as her daddeh took her to the Happy Pen and set her down.
“Lemme get your special friend.” Gavin said, using the terms they understood. He went over to the stallions, who were all trying to clamber over one another, wanting to be picked. “Hey, calm down, guys. You’ll all get a turn.” He reassured them. He found Buddy, who was more at the bottom of the pile. “You’re first.” He said.
Buddy’s eyes went wide. “Buddy…hab speshul fwiend?” He asked, tearful at the idea. He thought he was so ugly that no fluffy would love him! His tail wagged a little bit.
“Of course! Candy is a real sweetheart.” He told Buddy, hugging him as he took the male over to the Happy Pen. Candy was already there, wiggling happily.
Though she paused to see a mostly brown fluffy, she smiled. “Hewwo! Am Candy! Am nyu speshul fwiend!”
Buddy ducked his head shyly, his ears down. “A-am Buddy. Buddy tink Candy pwetty maws.”
Gavin didn’t want this messed up, so he knelt down, lowering her voice. “Candy, I’m gonna let you in on a secret.” She said. “See how Buddy has spots on him?”
“Yus.” Candy nodded.
“That makes him really special. He has THREE colors instead of just two.” He said. It wasn’t too wise to over-compliment fluffies or tell them they were more special…but given Buddy’s self esteem was already zero, it could only help. It would also help to keep Candy from slipping up and calling him ugly or poopie. He couldn’t afford to have special friends quarreling and unhappy.
Candy’s eyes went wide. “Buddy am…speshul speshul fwiend?” She asked. Buddy went wide eyed as well, as he’d never been told this before.
“He is. So I hope you get along with him.” He pet them both and gave them some space as he heard the enfing began. He went on his phone a bit to check emails. He sighed to see one from his brother, reminding him of his ‘options’. Gavin shook his head. He could feel it. He’d make it.
“GOOD FEEWS!” Buddy cried before falling off Candy, panting.
Candy squealed happily. “Am soon mummah nao!” She said.
One pair down. Gavin laid Buddy in his bed then Candy in hers. The mares wanted to coo over her, but Gavin scooped up Princess.
“You’re next, girlie.” He said affectionately.
“Name not giwie. Am Pwincess.” The white fluffy said in confusion.
“Of course you are.” Gavin said. Even if he knew they didn’t know terms of endearment, he always seemed to forget. He set her in the mating pen, then went to get Valor. “Valor, you’re up next. You’re gonna get a special friend.” He said. He put Valor in the pen, who puffed up happily. His fur was so dense it nearly swallowed Gavin’s hands as he brought the fluffy over.
When he was set before her, Princess looked confused. “Whewe am stawwion?” She asked, looking around, mistaking Valor for a mare due to his colors.
Valor puffed up. “SCREEEEEE!” He screamed, startling both Gavin and Princess. “NU AM MAWE! AM STAWWION! STAWWION!” He threw a tantrum.
Gavin picked up Valor, soothing him. “Hey, she didn’t mean it, Valor.” He said. “She just never saw a purple stallion before.” He looked at Princess. “Hey, Princess.” He saw the mare was in the corner, shaking a little. “Valor here is a stallion. A very puffy haired stallion, and a good boy.” He pet her with one hand. “He’s been teased about being a mare because of his colors before, so he’s a little sensitive about it.” He set Valor down after the stallion stopped heavy breathing.
Princess approached Valor. “Sowwy, Vawor.” She said. “Am vewy pwetty stawwion.” She cooed at the pat of approval she got from her daddeh on her head.
Valor calmed down, mollified by the apology from a very pretty mare. “Dank you.” Valor calmed down. “Wan be speshul fwiend?” He asked.
Princess perked up. “Yus! Wan babbehs!” She turned around to present herself, tail swishing.
Gavin turned away to give them privacy, finding it…strange how a creature can be innocent and cute, yet asking to be laid. He heard the enfing begin and sighed, scrolling his phone. When it was over with the typical yell, he returned both ponies to their enclosure, much like he had the previous two. Now…his last pair.
He smiled at Darling. “You’re last up.” He told her, picking up the curly furred fluffy. “And you’ve got a really pretty stallion for you.” He told Darling. The girl had a rough life when he first found her, covered in dirt, her fur matted and tangled with twigs. He’d found her sobbing and trapped by the fluff to a chain link fence. Had he not stopped to free her…he wouldn’t have noticed her curls. It was a stroke of pure luck that he had. He’d decided on the spot to make an exception for this feral. He had planned to only take in adolescent foals from reputable breeders, but Darling was so exceptional…he decided as long as the fluffy was well tempered and extremely unusual he would take them in.
Gavin set Darling down in the pen, and went over to get Prince.
The stallion was grooming himself, which was one of his favorite activities. The fluffy liked to be as clean as he could to then admire himself in whatever reflective surface he came across. He yelped as suddenly he saw hands in front of him. Prince nipped at the hands.
Gavin drew them back. “Hey! Prince!” He scolded. While the bites of a fluffy didn’t hurt, it wasn’t a good habit for Prince to get into.
Prince’s ears went down. “Sowwy, daddeh.” Prince looked at the floor. “Pwince nu wike touchies.”
“I know, bu…er, Prince.” He told him. “Daddeh won’t ever hurt you, though.” He said. “I have to pick you up, though. You’re going to get a special friend today.”
Much like the others, Prince perked up. “Gud feews?” He asked.
Gavin smirked a bit to see where Prince’s priorities were. Oh well. It was better if he didn’t have the familiar attachment since he was going to be bred multiples times, probably with different mares. “Yes. Good feels. But I need to pick you up to take you to the pen.”
Prince considered this. Let the human touch him…which he hated, but would get good feels. Or refuse and miss out on good feels. The promise of sex won, and he sat on his haunches, reaching out. “Upsies, pwease.” He said.
Gavin smiled. “That’s a very good fluffy, Prince.” He told him, and picked him up carefully, supporting him but without holding him close, just as Prince wished. He took him over to the pen where Darling was.
Prince perked up to see such a pretty mare, just for him! As soon as he was set down, he bounded over to her. “Hewwo! Am Pwince.” He puffed his chest fluff out proudly.
Darling was dazzled by the pretty fluffy in front of her. “A-am Dawing.” Darling said, blushing under her face fluff. “Am weally speshul fwiend?” She directed this at Gavin.
“He is.” Gavin said.
Prince proudly mounted his prize, the enfing for the last time today.
Gavin sighed, wishing he had more warning. It was about as awkward as seeing two dogs or squirrels hump. Maybe a bit more awkward, as these were his pets, not just random animals off the street. He waited until they were done, and returned Prince first, after warning him he was going to pick him up. He set a sleepy Prince on his bed, seeing the fluffy was already asleep. It did make it difficult to carry him, as he was little more than a blob held together by fur.
Going over to Darling, he saw the mare was distressed.
“D-daddeh! Nu am pwetty!” She said, tapping her hooves in distress.
Ah, right. She hated being dirty. He took her to the vet table, where there were wet wipes on one of the shelves underneath. He gently wiped her clean, despite the discomfort on both sides.
“N-nu wike speshul pwace bein towched.” Darling said.
“I know, Darling.” Gavin said. “But you want to be clean. I don’t like touching there either.” He finished cleaning her off. “Alright. Let’s get this soon mummah back to bed.”
“Yay!” Darling cheered sleepily, dozing off almost as soon as her daddeh picked her up. “Wuv daddeh.” She said.
Gavin’s heart warmed. “I love you too, Darling.” He set her in her bed, then sighed. Now…he could truly begin.