//------------------------------// // 66. Shard #702,908 // Story: Short Shorts // by Coranth //------------------------------// It was a perfect world. A cruel and unusual punishment inflicted upon 'lesser' ponies by their 'noble' unicorn betters, the creation of 'toy' ponies was done through sickening magical experimentation and alchemy upon a fully grown stallion or mare. The result of said experiments produced ponies whom were fully grown, yet the equivalent size of fillies or colts, intelligent enough to become the… pets… of their masters but good for little else. Upon learning of these 'toy' ponies, the Princesses had stamped down on their creation—hard—and as a result, the unicorns who'd created them in secret… snuffed them out—or, they'd tried to. Many had been killed, but the little pinto pony who even now snoozed 'neath Luna's wing as she conducted her Night Court had been very lucky indeed… "How… how could I have let this happen, Luna?" Celestia asked as she looked upon the very tiny pony snoozing atop her sister's back. "How could I have let such cruel experiments exist, right under my own muzzle?" Princess Luna craned her head about to look at the toy pony atop her back. 'Prithee, he is so very small and frail…' she thought sadly. 'T'is as if he may vanish at any moment. So small, so soft…' A sob caught in her throat as her eyes grew misty and then and there she renewed her vow to care for him, for as long as he lived, for despite the way he was and the horror of his creation… he was always there for her, loving her unconditionally. "Mine Sister," whispered she, nickering softly to the pony upon her back, "thou didst not 'let' this happen; it was allowed to occur without your knowledge and propagated by hearts crueler than mine own whence I turned unto Nightmare Moon! Thou couldst not have foreseen this." "But I should have, Luna," insisted, Celestia, softly so as not to wake her sister's tiny passenger. "The experiments performed were monstrous, done at the behest of those whom would turn criminals, loyal servants, and even good citizens into pets!" The thought, unspoken, remained. 'Pets… who will only live for fifteen, perhaps twenty years, if that…' "T'is naught all bad, Sister; we have managed to save many, enough that a stable population can be made, and they breed true. All will be kept safe, given to good, loving homes with ponies who will care for them as their own." Gently, Luna nuzzled the little pony upon her back; then she bid Celestia a good day before she resumed taking her beloved companion back to their quarters. He would need feeding and another good brushing, for many mares and stallions had cooed softly o'er him this night, petting and ruffling up his mane and coat 'till both were a mess! * * * Despite her reputation, Mistress Luna was so very kind to him! She fed him daily, made sure to take him out for his walkies, made sure his coat and mane were always brushed and soft and took him everywhere with her, even to Court, though he mostly slept through it, snoring cutely beneath her wings. So long as it was supervised, he was even allowed to play with the normal pony foals in the Royal Orphanage, and even go outside, though not for long as the light hurt his eyes. The best times, however, were when he was able to be abed with Mistress Luna, for she would talk, read, or even sing softly to him; so many wonderful new words and songs. Though… sometimes… when she looked at him, she always seemed so very sad… Then, he would nicker, and whinny, and nudge and nuzzle her with his nose, tickling her until she laughed, great booming laughter! There might have been a time when he was a Servant or perhaps even a Guardspony – flickers and flashes of memory would assault him in dreams – but those times were oft filled with hurt and pain; then he would cry out for his Mistress and she would lick-groom him softly, chasing the bad things away, before bringing him against her barrel and folding a wing over his little body, allowing sleep to claim him once more. It was a perfect world.