A Gamer and his Fluffies 2.

>Have just "adopted" three fluffies that broke into your house.
>The technicolor vermin are currently all hugging each other in your bathtub, babbling happily, since you just cleansed them.
>"Fwuffy name Pehgus! Fwiend haf' name?"
>"Fwuffy name Oon'cawn! Fwiend haf' name?"
>"Fwuffy name Jush Wah-hows! Oon'cawn smeww pwetty!"
>"Jush Wah-hows smeww pwetty tuu!"
>"Pehgus got Wewad! 'N'noited bai wawa!"
>Before game chatter... As a game master, you are intimately familiar with it. Time to put a stop to it.
>You clap your hands, the loud noise silences the fluffy ponies, except for Pegasis, who apparently didn't quite finish with his bowel movements before. No matter, they're all in the tub and he's not sitting in it, and Unicorn, who winces.
>"Woud noise huwty..." she says, flattening her orange ears against the sides of her head.
"Welcome, friends, to tonight's game!"
>"Pway game! Wan pway! Wan Pway!" The fluffies are hopping up and down in place happily.
"Tonight's game is: "Heroes of the Dawn Guard!"
>The joy doesn't quite stop, but it does slow.
>"Wha' Daw' Gawd?" asks Warhorse.
>"Wike stwing?" asks Unicorn.
"More like..."
>You reminisce to the fluffy pony you had many years ago.
"Pretend."
>"Pweten'?" asks Warhorse.
"Pretend is when..."
>You realize you've never had to explain this to anyone. Ever.
>You explain role-playing, creating a character, combat rules, all that stuff pretty often to new players at demo events and such, but never the very basic of "pretend".  It's not something people need explained.
>And now you've been quiet for almost ten seconds, gathering your thoughts.
"Pretend is when you use your mind, your imagination, your thoughts, and you think about being someone else, or something else, or some place else. You think about making things different, or making different things more the same... it's about thinking about things, do you understand?"
>The three fluffies stare up at you, mutely.
>"Wike..." unicorn scrunches her face. "Wike wn' mummeh nuu move? An' boo-boo juice ewwy'whe?"
>Oh crap, she's started sobbing.
>Pegasis reaches over and hugs her. "Nuuu! Nu cwy, huggies make bettah! Huggies make bettah."
>undeterred by the embrace of her friend, she keeps on going. "'An meanie munstah hoomen HATE fwuffy! An' put pwace dat nu smeww pwetty an' weave hew..."
>Warhorse joins the group hug. he's also starting to sniffle.
>"Nuu cwy! Nu cwy! Nu noise!"
>It's no good, apparently you cracked open the motherload of bad childhoods.
>"An tummy huwt fwom nu nummies! An yu jush wan' safe pwace foh dawk time!  Den Yuu P-P-"Pweten'" dat pwace smeww wike fwowas, an-an, Mummeh nu foweva sweep, an sisses nu foweva sweep, an' nu cwy oh munstas get yuu... an tummie nu huwt, Wike tummeh huwt wite NAO!"
>There's your opportunity!
"Oh, are you hungry? Would you like some yummy food?"
>Unicorn is weeping, but she slows, and looks up at you. "Daddeh gif nummies tu Oon'cawn?"
"I'll give all of you food. C'mon, let's get you something to eat."
>You pick up Unicorn and hold her close.
"I'm here. This is a safe place."
>She sniffles, then blows her tiny fluffy nose in your shirt.
>Ew.
>"Oon'cawn wuv yuu, daddy."
>From the tub you hear a cry of "Pehgus wuv daddeh tuu!"
"Okay everyone, just sit tight, I'll bring food over."
>You set Unicorn back down in the tub, and dash out to the kitchen.
>On the counter you have three pizza hut pizzas with various toppings, your friend's favorites, and one long skinny box.
>Lucky you, the no-call-no-show happened to allways order the pasta bowl from Pizza Hut.
>it's barely what you would call "food". But you're willing to bet the fluffies could eat it.
>Maybe you should chop up a carrot into it or something.
>After some quick skinning and chopping, you have three paper plates covered with a kind of salad / pasta hybrid.
>Is it fluffy chow? Close enough. You head back to the bathroom and find the three fluffballs waiting.
>"Daddeh said bwing nummies!" "Wuv daddeh!" "Pehgus no mea' make bad poopies! Nuu wan' sowwy stick!"
>Oh, right, forgot about that.
"Allright everyone, dinner time!"
>You pick up Pegasis, and quickly inspect him. He's clean, but shaking in your grasp.
>"Nu wan' make bad poopies! Pwease nuu sowwy stick Daddeh!"
"It's alright. I can clean it up. You couldn't get to your litter box. Don't worry. Here, i brought food."
>Set him down and put a plate of pasta / salad in front of him. He dives in with gusto.
>Poor guy, all skin and bones under the fluff.
>Come to think of it, Unicorn and warhorse weren't much heavier.