Honest!
But how could I possibly turn away such a sweet face?

Anyhoof, I have never 'willingly' participated in the Black Friday madness until this year. Toys-R-Us had the FurReal Friends Butterscotch Pony for $99 (website only) and free shipping credit up too $20.
Interestingly enough, she wasn't even listed as available before then...

But anyway, I got home just as the sale started, fired up my laptop and took the dogs out. When I was done walking the dogs I logged in and tried to purchase one. I tried, and tried, and tried for a hour and twenty minutes, only to have the page continue to freeze at the payment screen or refuse to load all together, until it popped up they weren't available.

So back to Craigslist I went. There were several; a few Butterscotchs' and two Smores' to pick from. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to get free to go look until today and that eliminated two of the ones' I liked the most.

The gal that had this one responded the fastest and even though it was quite a bit farther away, she was half the cost. I'm fairly sure my second choice is in much better condition as well, but this one is good enough for what I need.

When I talked to the gal about directions, she mentioned driving past the abandoned single wide and over the bridge, she forgot to mention look out for dogs and goats. After a goat moseyed out of my way and the dog was called off, I was led into the kitchen where Butterscotch was hanging out on their table.

I've had C.W. McCalls' song 'Classified' stuck in my head ever since...

Her previous caregiver swore to me she didn't mind her charge being sold and her dad told me what little he knew about Butterscotch, mostly by asking his daughter. I looked her over and didn't see anything obviously wrong. She seemed to respond to voice and touch, her fur, mane and tail looked fine and I couldn't detect any noticeable smell. She's missing her brush and play carrot, but someone had made 'grass' for her to munch and I don't care about those accessories anyway.

On the way home I stopped at the trail head of a rail-trail I want to ride next summer. Online resources can be wrong and I don't want to pack and drive 70 miles only to find the trail isn't what I expected. A couple bicyclist were racking their bikes when I pulled in the parking lot and they confirmed what the websites claimed, so now all I need is to wait for better weather to give it a shot.

Further down the road I stopped by a Walmart to use the facilities and check for new pony stuff, and found a Fashion Style Rainbow Dash!
My day just got 20% cooler!

When I got home it was a different story though.

Butterscotchs' power switch is under her belly and after turning her around and flipping the switch on, I noticed her belly is damp and it has a faint, mousy scent. I can't find any evidence of rodent damage, so I'm hoping she just picked it up in storage and she's damp from them trying to clean her. After turning her on I realized she wasn't just ignoring me earlier, she can't turn her head to the right. When she tries, there's a clicking noise and her head stops while still looking forward.
That figures, just my luck...
I doused her with Fabreze and tied her up in front of the dehumidifier to dry off. At least she only cost me about fifty bits with a 140 mile round trip, but now I'm really glad I wasn't buying her to give as a gift. I can probably fix her up, but I'd rather take my time and not have a Christmas deadline hanging over me right now with all the other things I need to get done.

Does anyone have suggestions for cleaning fake fur? I'm not sure how her electronics are laid out, so I know I'll have to be really careful. I may have to skin her to get to the haywire mechanicals anyway, so problem solved I guess. That is if I can get her hide off without damaging it.

Oh, my poor little steampunk pony, what will I do with you?