//------------------------------// // 188. On "Fluffy" Ponies // Story: Short Shorts // by Coranth //------------------------------// What do I think of so-called "Fluffy" Ponies? My personal opinion doesn't matter. Was this company "Hasbio" right to create them? Absolutely not. "Hasbio" - a then subsidiary of the Toy Company, Hasbro - made the Fluffies for one reason, and one reason only: money. See, we know that they were trying to create actual living ponies from the show, "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic," billed as the ultimate pet or companion. Instead, what they got were, well, the stub-legged, overly fluffy creatures we know today as the Fluffy Ponies. And then - before they were 'ready' - a group of absolute idiots called PETA released them. I shake my head at their utter stupidity. People say that Fluffies breed fast--well of course they do, they have to, since people treat them like vermin instead of the companions they're supposed to be. People say that the Fluffies defecate everywhere--well... so would our children if not diapered--and yes, you can carefully train them not to do so in your house; you can train them to do it outside in a corner of your yard, in a designated sand pit in a pen if you keep them indoors... yet all I hear are complaints of "shit everywhere" because, oh, I don't know---NO ONE HAS TAKEN THE TIME TO TOILET TRAIN THEM! I like to think that most people who own Fluffy Ponies are generally good - that [the Fluffy Ponies] are trained properly and taken care of - but it seems all I hear these days are the opposite: of Fluffy Ponies having their little legs cut off; of Fluffies being physically and sexually abused by every psychotic, abhorrent monster of a human being out there; of Fluffy Mares having their foals taken away from them and sold, or being used for food... What the hell is wrong with you people?! Would you treat your children this way? I doubt it. So why treat Fluffies like this? And don't give the excuse that they are vermin; they only seem that way because people took one look at them, saw they weren't the show-ponies we'd come to know and love, and then utterly dismissed them. If you want to know the value of a race, look to how they treat their children... Now... on "Smarty" and "Toughie" ponies being abusive: well... children are little shits, too, if not taught empathy. The sad thing is... due to their childlike intelligence it is SO EASY to train them in basic commands. My own Fluffy Mare - an Earth Fluffy named Crystal - tried to defy me one day and attempted to cross a busy street - the tunnel-vision that all children seem to have - because she'd seen something shiny on the other side. As soon as she started to move her little legs I pulled her back to me (she was on leash), sharply tapped her on the nose, and gently but firmly said "No!" She. Was. Devastated. She thought she'd done the most awful thing in the world; but I gently picked her up, held her in my arms, and rocked her, reassuring her over and over that she was a good fluffy, a good pony... Then, after, I carefully explained to her why "crossing where there were no stripes" was dangerous. She looked at me, then at the road, and stated, "Fowevew sweepies iff cwoss hewe." When I nodded and said yes, she cried again, frightened by what she'd almost done... People, if you just give them a chance they can be taught, they can be taught quite a number of words, they can be trained to perform simple tasks, and yes, you can improve their childlike speech with care; remember that their muzzles aren't like our mouths, and it's a wonder that they can speak at all. When training a Fluffy: Be gentle. Repeat--constantly, and praise them when they do the right thing. And above all else: be. patient! Crystal, do you want to say something? ...... ....... ......... "My... name... is... Crystal. I... am... a... Fluffy... Pony. Please... don't... hurt... us... any... more. Be... kind... to... us. We... want... to... be... friends. Thank... you." "Good girl!"