I woke up lying on my side, half of my face was buried in the straw on the floor of the cage, I assumed it morning but due to the lack of sunlight and windows it was anyone's guess. I sat upright, face and beard covered in hay, in my usual groggy and ticked off mood that my wonderful slumber had been rudely interrupted by that annoying time we all know as consciousness. My hearing was the next sense to boot up as I picked hay out of my beard and mouth.
“Sounds like the animal is up and moving Sergeant. Should I alert the other guards and help them prep it for the party?” A nervous voice asked. I looked up at the conversation, as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and saw two significantly different guards compared to the ones from my first visit.
The two Pegasus guards had swapped out for two Unicorns in the night and I couldn't help but giggle a little at one of them due to his pink mane and baby blue coat, and just like every other horse there he had a marking on his hindquarters. His didn't look like it was war or battle related like most of them, instead he had a simple map and compass. His face looked younger than most of the others, free from the years of stress that aged the rest of the guards I had seen, especially the other Unicorn guard that stood opposite from him in front of my cage.
This one looked like an aged rock star from the early seventies. Bags under his eyes, wrinkles on his face and even a few battle scars on his gray coat, in short he looked like ten miles of bad road. And yet he stood at his post with an air of confidence about him, as if he was ready for most anything that came his way. His steely blue eyes looked straight forward and without hesitation he began to give the younger guard an earful for what seemed like a perfectly sensible question to me.
“Gee I'm not really sure private. Why don't we think back about six hours ago when this shift started,” he said, speaking slowly as if he was talking to a child, “you do remember that right?”
“Yes sir.” The private replied rather embarrassed.
“Well then,” The older guard said calmly leaning ever closer to the pink maned stallion's face, “get your flank in gear and get the ball rolling!” A shout that was only comparable to a drill Sergeant for the Marines. The private jumped to attention, saluted him and took off like a shot towards the stairs before the battle hardened looking stallion could devise some punishment for him. “Dang newbie.” The gray stallion muttered under his breath. “Needs everything explained twice before it sinks into that thick skull of his.”
Moments later the younger guard returned with six more armored horses, a mid-sized round metal tub, a small assortment of brushes, scrubbing pads and a leash on a long metal pole. I was mesmerized by the objects as they were floating into room surrounded by a faint glowing aura, it was similar to the one that their princess produced when she was inspecting me just a day ago. But before I could even think about how this was possible, or what they brought it out for, the front door to the cage I was in was flung open, the leash was around my neck and I was being pulled out.
“Okay big guy let's go!” the guard shouted at me. “Come on, let's make this quick!” He said again sounding rather displeased with me. “Get the bath going,” he said turning his head towards another guard, “I don't want to make a production out of this.”
“Yes sir!” Two more guards shouted back in unison.
I was promptly led over to the tub and just like the items brought into the room I was suddenly floating. The tub slid under me and in a matter of seconds I was sitting in it being drenched with cold water and getting scrubbed down, I guess these horses weren't kidding when they said this was going to be quick. Between the ice cold water and the dual brush assault this was the either quickest method to wake someone up or the quickest way to get a punch in the face, but luckily before the latter of the two outcomes came true the bath was over and I was getting buffed dry with a large towel. The guards proceeded to look me over from head to toe, I guess they wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything in the rush.
“Animal is cleaned and ready to go sir!” One stallion proclaimed after the inspection.
“Great job stallions.” The Sergeant said, clearly satisfied with the speed and efficiency they got me clean. “Now all that's left is to cover his, uh, nether regions,” he said hesitantly, “and we'll be good to bring him up to the party.”
“Way ahead of you sir, wrap him up boys.” Two more guards approached me with a large piece of cloth and a length of rope. They wrapped the cloth around my waist and used the rope as a belt, it was ratty, had a few holes and had this odor about it.
“Alright, he's clean and presentable. Let's get him in the mobile cage and roll him out to the party. Corporal, we're going to need your magic in case this gets out of hand.”
With the leash still around my neck the guards began to cautiously move me towards the much smaller cage that had been wheeled in and was now sitting near the exit. From the moment I had woken up here I had been treated like some freak, some oddity and I was getting sick of it, so being at full strength and well aware of my surroundings I tried to make a break for it. They walked me over to the smaller cage, pushing me forwards really, hoping to get me out to the party and be rid of me for the day. About half way to the cage I made my move and bid for freedom between shoves from the guards by pushing back, sliding my hand under the collar to loosen it and slipping my head out. As soon as I was loose I headed straight for the first door I saw, but it was the shortest run of my life. I took no more than two steps and before I knew it I was floating in mid-air and moving back towards the small cage.
“Didn't think it was quick!” A voice exclaimed, “That was pretty impressive, eh Sergeant?” I looked over towards the voice and saw a Unicorn standing there and it's horn was glowing, guess that answered my question about why objects were floating.
“Damn right he's quick, get him in the cage and padlock it. I think this one might be a little too smart for his own good.”
“Alright you animal, into the cage!” the Unicorn grunted as I was shoved into the cage and it was quickly locked behind me.
“Get the sheet and bow, we need this wrapped and looking festive for Princess Luna's party.” Another voice said, there were now at least ten armored horses running around helping get me out the door and I had lost track of who was who.
A sheet was tossed over the top of the cage and in no time at all I was on the move. The ride was a little bumpy at first but soon smoothed out, I assumed that they were just jostling me around for the fun of since I couldn't see out of this mobile prison cell. After a few minutes I could see daylight fighting it's way through the cover surrounding me, I stumbled back a bit while we suddenly began to travel uphill. More light began to penetrate the sheet as the ride leveled out and I could make out the silhouette of the bow that was wrapped on the cage, but more importantly I began to hear what I assumed was the party scene all the guards were talking about. It didn't sound like a typical party that I would throw or a big bash but more of a subdued, upper crust kind of social gathering. Light classical music in the background as opposed to the party image in my head of kids running around causing a ruckus or loud blasting music and parents complaining.
As I was trying to mentally prepare myself for what might happen once that sheet came off my sense of smell seemed to kick into overdrive. I must have been too groggy or ticked off at the guards to notice it before but it certainly had my attention now as a thousand and one scents assaulted my nose, all vying to be first to hit my olfactory nerve and be recognized. I could smell at least twelve different perfumes, six different flowers, freshly cut grass and my favorite thing of all, pastries. I began to get a little dizzy from the wall of smells that were hitting me all at once, but it soon passed and my hearing started to tune into the sounds around me, the most noticeable was the conversation the guards were having about presents.
“I hope Princess Luna doesn't just forget about the giant teddy bear we got her after she sees her sister's gift for her.” A voice from my right uttered sounding concerned that their teddy might not stack up to this other gift.
“Relax, I'm sure she's going to let everypony know that she loves what they got her and will not just toss it aside for the next big thing, she far too kind to do that.” Another voice said from my left, he sounded far more relaxed about the whole situation.
“Look all I'm saying is that we might get a moment of amnesia about all her other gifts once she sees the pet she's getting. You know her love of exotic animals and this thing is really going to send her into a tizzy.”
“Well you do have a good point. I mean most ponies have a pet like a fish, a cat or a dog but who else has a pet human?” Those last two words echoed around inside my head as I brace myself for what life as a pet might entail. I began to picture myself being led around on a leash for all to gawk and stare at like some freak on display. Or maybe I would never be let out, trapped in a cage till the day I die just to be shown off on occasion to friends. My hearing had completely tuned out all outside sounds as I retreated into my own head and tried to cope with this new reality that had been thrown at me.
“This has got to be some kind of nightmare,” I thought to myself, “some kind of unusual punishment for something I have done in the past.” I began to get a little paranoid about the first stage of getting a new pet, the names. “I swear if she calls me anything but a butch or a max I am going to lose it, no pookie or snuggle bunny or any cutesy names.” I thought to myself, hoping to some how change the mind of whoever I was given to. That idea seemed less absurd than normal since I was being moved around in a cage by talking horses and couldn't speak for myself.
The cage came to a sudden stop and I was snapped out of my mental cocoon of paranoia and brought back to the reality of the situation at hand. With the music now at full volume and the lack of movement from the cage I could only assume that we had arrived at the much discussed party and I was about to meet my new owner, oh joy. I wasn't happy with the situation but at least I wasn't being sliced open and experimented on like I originally feared, but becoming someone's pet was not the ideal scenario nor one I could have ever dreamed up in a million years. The music died down as did the talking and the silence, though only lasting a minute or so, seemed to go on for an hour. Due to the lack of vision outside of my cage the suspense started to get to me and I began to worry, however the silence was soon broken by a female voice.
“Thank you for coming everypony, I hope you have enjoyed the soothing sounds of Octavia and her fellow classical musicians as well as the wonderful pastry spread donated by Mister and Misses Cake in Ponyville.” A sound of general approval came afterwards, not applause exactly but light hoof beats and a positive tone in the voices listening were enough to convey that everything had gone over well so far. “Now let us have the birthday mare grace us with her presence as we grace her with our presents.” The audience chuckled a bit at the well thought out wordplay and the band began to play a classical rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.
“Thank you all for coming out to my birthday celebration,” another female voice said in a rather regal and royal tone of voice, “and thank you Octavia for coming out to play on such short notice. Now,” her voice sounded a little shaky, as if she was excited but trying to keep her composure, “where are those wonderful gifts you have all so painstakingly searched for, just for me?” The other voice chuckled a bit at the seemingly rehearsed question.
“Well first is one from the professors at the local University, they know about your love of the natural world and have gotten you,” the sound of wrapping paper being furiously ripped apart filled the air, “the most recent volume to the Equestrian nature encyclopedia.”
“Oh my goodness!” the younger voice exclaimed. “I thought this wasn't to be released for at least a month.”
“Well,” a slightly smug, older male voice replied, “there are certain advantages to being a professor in the one of the most prestigious Ivy League Universities in the kingdom. Getting a book like this one a month in advance is just one of the many perks.”
“Well I thank you for this wonderful gift of the most updated wisdom of our great, vast, and ever expanding natural world. This is going right next to the other nineteen volumes above my desk, for nature identification emergencies.” The male voiced laughed a little at the thought of having such an emergency.
“Your personal tutor has gotten you a gift as well Luna, he is too sick to be here today but his assistant has been sent in his place. Pages, the gift if you please.”
“Yes your Majesty,” a young male voice replied, “there is a note that he wanted me to read to accompany the gift.” He cleared his throat and began to read.
“Dear Princess Luna, it has come to my attention that the reason you are not as far along in your studies as your sister and I would like is the constant interruptions due to inferior studying paraphernalia. Quills breaking and the lack of a constant supply paper being the largest obstructions. So I present to you the last study station and set of supplies you will ever need to be prepared for my lessons.” The sound of more paper being ripped apart filled my ears once again. Once the paper had stopped ripping the young male voice continued with his long drawn out letter about the gift. “It contains a large flat surface, large enough for both your book and paper while taking notes and copying chapters for homework. A set of unbreakable quills for long lessons and an enchanted paper dispenser. Simply cast the spell enclosed with it and never run out of paper ever again. I do hope you enjoy it and use it for years to come, sincerely yours, Chapters.” There was long and rather awkward silence after the letter reading. Finally a female voice broke the silence and asked the question that everyone at the party, me included, were all pondering.
“Well Luna, what do you think of your tutor's gift? It will surely help you get more out of each study session with him.” There was a long pause before I heard any response.
“It is a wonderful gift Pages. Tell Chapters I love it and I hope he gets well soon.” She replied, sounding like she was just being nice to avoid hurting any feelings.
“Thank you for the kind words Princess Luna. I will pass on the message when I see him.” It was the most audibly awkward and possibly shortest conversation I had heard in a long time.
“Thank you very much Pages. And now I do believe the guards have something for you Luna, something you have not seen in quite a while. Bring out Luna's gift sirs.”
“Yes your Majesty.” A gruff male voice replied. “We present our gift for Princess Luna, an item that she cherished as a child and was inseparable from.”
I heard a thump as if someone had dropped a pillow on the ground. The reaction was almost instant, a high pitched squeal of excitement was all I could hear.
“Oh my goodness! Mister Sunggles! Wherever did you find an exact replica this size of my favorite teddy bear?”
“Well when you go around telling toy makers that it's Princess Luna's birthday strange and special things can happen.” The raspy male voice replied with a chuckle.
“He's exactly as I remember him.”
“We heard you've been having trouble sleeping lately and we thought this might help you get some much needed shut eye.”
“Oh it will Corporal, thank you so very much.” From the tone in her voice I could tell she was deeply touched by the gift, it brought a small smile to my face and for a moment I had forgotten why I was sitting in this cage but I was soon reminded as the cage was set in motion once again.
“Thank you all for the wonderful gifts, it means-”
“But Luna, you still have one more gift to open,” the other female voice said, abruptly cutting her off, “and it's right under that sheet. Why don't you see what your big sister got you.” She said with a bit of arrogance in her voice.
I heard no response or any sounds of excitement and this had me a little worried. I was in this strange world filled with talking horses and was treated as some anomaly, so her reaction to seeing me compared to the other seemingly simple gifts had me shaking a little bit. I heard pacing around the outside of the cage, something kept brushing the sheet as if trying to guess what was underneath. All of this tension was driving me nuts, I just wanted to get this over with so I began to groan a little to try and get her to look. It didn't quite go as planned, but I did get a reaction to cut the tension.
“Is there something alive under that?! Sister what in name of Equestria is under that sheet?” She sounded startled and not too happy with what she had been given and she hadn't even seen me yet, this rattled me.
“Oh Luna, just lift the sheet and see for yourself. I promise this isn't a birthday prank.” The other voice reassured her, like this had been a practical joke that was pulled before. The sheet flew off the cage, the sunlight poured in and my eyes adjusted. I was staring at a huge garden party filled with horses of every color, both Unicorn and Pegasus and even regular ones, but right in the middle of my field of view was a royal blue one. It had wings, a horn, and was adorned with jewelry from top to bottom. It took me a few seconds to process the whole view and then I noticed the elaborate dress and realized that this was one of the two female voices I had been hearing. As we stared at each other a smile started to grow across her face and soon turned into a full blown look of pure elation.
“Oh my stars! It's a real live human! This is incredible Celestia, how in the world did you ever get one? Is it from the zoo? Did they donate one just for me?” She started to teleport around to different side of my cage firing off questions about me faster than anyone could answer, but one sentence stopped her in her tracks.
“He's to be your pet Luna.” The dark blue horse's head whipped around.
“He's, my, pet?” She replied nearly stammering. She looked back at me, the smile had gone from her face and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. I began to worry that she didn't like the idea, though not being a pet was okay with me, I was paranoid that they would simply dispose of me because I did not meet the approval of this particular horse. Those fears were quickly tossed out as the smile returned to her face wider than ever and she began to shake with excitement.
“That's right Luna. Caring for this animal will help you learn time management and how to respond to sudden changes in your normal routine, both are invaluable skills that all politicians need to be successful. Whether you are the ruler of all of Equestria or just the mayor of a town or city.” The dark blue horse galloped toward her sister and nearly tackled her.
“Oh thank you 'Tia! This the best present anypony could ask for! I'll take care of him night and day, week in and week out. You will not be disappointed, I promise.” She said putting a hoof to her chest and bowing her head. I felt a small smile come across my face, I now know what it must have been like to be a puppy being given as a Christmas present to a little girl. I don't remember the last time my mere presence had brought someone this much happiness.
“Now for the all important question birthday mare, what are you going to call him?” This was the moment that I had feared. What ever she called me wasn't going to be my real name and I vowed to never embrace it, unless it was something totally awesome of course.
“Red Beard,” Luna replied looking at me, “that is his name. Do you like the name Red Beard?” She asked looking at me like my seal of approval was required. After a few moments of the awkward silence I smirked and then she smiled back. “Oh how delightful! He likes his new name. Can he come out of the cage 'Tia?” She asked her sister.
“I don't see why not, but he must be on a lead to avoid complications.” Celestia said looking at me. A lead meant a leash and I was going to fight tooth and nail if and when they tried to put one on. “This is a specially designed lead the zookeepers use when moving a human and it's rated for all strengths and sizes.” She informed the party as she produced a black vest, well more like a jumpsuit without the pants or sleeves, with a long lead on the back. I couldn't see any buttons or straps to open it up, which made me uncomfortable and a little confused as to how in the world are they going to put it on me. The vest floated over to the cage with Luna right behind it and in a brilliant flash of light it seemed to disappear.
“A perfect fit. That spell worked marvelously for a first try wouldn't you say?” I was befuddled for a moment as to what she meant by that but upon closer inspection of my body I found that I was now wearing the vest. In a moment of panic I tried to pull it off but as Luna had said it was a perfect fit, not enough wiggle room to slide out of it or even pull my arms inside. After a short and pointless struggle to escape my new leash I sighed and accepted that this was now a reality. The cage door opened and Luna beckoned me to come out.
“Come now Red Beard, time to meet the rest of the party.” Her voice was calm, trying to convince me that this was no big deal but I was not having it. I remained in the cage silently defying her command to come when she called. The guests at the party chuckled a little at the lack of obedience on my part. “Come on now Red Beard, nopony is going to hurt you. Just come on out and you will see.” She tried again, her calm voice replaced by slight irritation from my disobedience. “I'll pick you up out of that cage and drag you out here, I mean it.” She sounded quite serious and based on the objects I had seen floating around since I had woken up here, and my own flight experience, I decided not be the next airborne item on the list. I hesitantly exited the cage, weary of the many pairs of eyes watching me and reacting to my every step, breath and turn of my head. The eyes were locked onto me, filled with a mixture of wonder and fear as if I was going to either perform miracles or go on a rampage and turn the place upside down. The awkward stares were starting to get to me so I made an executive decision to break the silence myself with a deep, throaty and slightly depressed moan.
“Oh my goodness, did he just make a sound?” Luna's eyes widened as she turned and looked at me. “Humans are completely mute, how in the world did he do that?”
“He has working vocal chords according to the vet's examination. He is the only human to survive to maturity and have them.” Celestia replied.
“Well then, let us go for a stroll around the party and let everypony get a look at my new talkative little human.” Luna cooed at me. After leaving the cage I realized that the comment about me being little was quite appropriate. She was easily six and a half feet tall and her folded up wings trailed at least two feet back to her hindquarters and her sister was even taller, it was clear that these two were not to be trifled with. Luna gave a strong tug on the lead and motioned me to followed, the tug was quite the attention grabber as I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance and reluctantly followed her.
As we walked I saw that she not only towered over me but most of the guests as well, the females for the most part and some of the males as well. The only ones that seemed to rival her height were the guards surrounding the party and they were only a few inches shy of her. The show and tell continued and things were still a bit awkward for me, the guests asking if I carried any diseases or if the color of their outfits would upset me, like a bull charging at a red cape. After about an hour of this the graceless questions stopped, but my presence still had many of them on edge and keeping their distance. As we walked around Luna made sure I was fed and had plenty of water, guess the comments about me possibly eating the party guests if I got too hungry had her a little paranoid. As awkward as this was the guests at the party weren't all that bad, they were just a little ignorant of what a human was and what we were capable of. Just as I thought that it was smooth sailing from here on out a horrid, pungent and stomach turning smell hit me, it smelled like someone had poured eight or nine different perfumes and colognes into a bathtub with a skunk and had let it sit for a day. The odor had a second and rather unexpected effect on me, it made me angry. I couldn't understand why but it was just infuriating to me, so I covered my nose and mouth hoping to block it out but the smell had already got me riled up and I started to snarl and hiss.
“What's gotten into you Red Beard?” Luna asked me. I looked at her still pinching my nose to try and stop the smell. She raised her nose to the air and took a whiff. “Oh, that is why. You-know-who is about to arrive and from the smell of things he is wearing another concoction of his.” She said in a rather unenthusiastic tone. “Why does he insist on doing that?”
“Honestly Luna, I am at a loss for answers as to why he does anything he does.” Celestia replied rolling her eyes.
“Does he have to be here? He will only upset Red Beard and I.”
“Now Luna, he may be ungrateful, arrogant, self-centered, pompous and ill mannered,” she stopped for a moment as if to think if there was anything else mean she could say about whoever I could smell from a mile away, “but he is family. And as much as I would love to ban him from gatherings like this, I cannot. So simply ignore his comments and he will leave as quickly as he came.”
“Very well sister,” she said with a sigh as she turned to face me, “but what if Red Beard lashes out at him? He will surely make that known and use it to further his own image and destroy mine.”
“Don't worry. As long as the Human does not physically harm him then nothing will tarnish your reputation,” she said confidently, “my word will always trump his.”
The smell got stronger and before long I saw the horse that Luna and Celestia were talking about and the source of the horrid stench that now filled the air. What I had gathered from the conversation was that this was 'him' and from what I could see he seemed to be just another guest, well aside from the smell. He had a blonde mane and tail that looked like a Hollywood stylist had just gotten done with it and his coat was so clean it was almost unreal. His horn and hooves gleamed in the sunlight as he approached me and Luna, his nose slightly in the air like he was some kind of big shot around here, paying no attention to anything at the party including the other guests. His facial expression was one of dissatisfaction, like showing up to this party was a chore that he just didn't want to do. He turned and inspected the dessert spread before levitating one up to his mouth, smelling it and then putting it back because it apparently didn't meet his standards, I was beginning to see why Luna and Celestia were not too happy he had arrived. He was about my height, just under six feet to be exact, so I stood up as straight as I could trying to look as intimidating as possible, not sure why but the rational part of my brain seemed to be out on break at the moment and the primitive portion got a promotion. As he got closer he lowered his nose and made eye contact with me, the first few seconds he saw me gritting my teeth at him, unable to maintain my composure as I growled with every step he took towards me.
“What in the name of all things sacred is that?!” the stallion finally yelled after staring at me for what seemed like minutes. “I-Is that a Human standing next to Luna?!” He stammered, frightened by the sight of me.
“Yes it is nephew”, Celestia replied almost exacerbated like she had been through this kind of drama before and had grown tired of it.
“Why in the world is that horrid thing standing before me?! It should be dragged out back and put down immediately. It is a danger to the guests and more importantly a danger to me!” He looked disgusted to see me and he sounded like he meant every word. I was absolutely livid at this point, but not so much from his smug attitude or his wish to see me dead but more so from the smell he was still putting off.
“We will do no such thing Blueblood!” Luna said as she stepped between me and this Blueblood jerk. “This is my new pet and no harm will come to him as long as I am his owner. Now I thank you for managing to find time in your absurdly busy schedule to attend my birthday celebration but I do believe you have worn out your welcome.” She said while shooting him a dirty look.
“But Luna I have just arrived, how is it that I have already overstayed my welcome? You're not just trying to get rid of me are you?” I could see Luna biting her tongue, desperately trying to come up with a good reason for him to leave. “Because if you are then I am sure the other guests would be just shocked at one of the royal pony sisters being so rude to a member of their own family. Just imagine the headlines Luna.” He said with a smug, self satisfied grin on his face.
“Why of course not Blueblood, where ever did you get that ridiculous idea.” She chuckled, all while putting on the best fake smile I've seen in years. “You said it yourself, he's dangerous. Not to the whole party like you had previously stated but at the moment he is a threat, well to you at the very least.” She said as if she was prepared to unleash me and let me take him down. “You see ever since you showed up and he picked up on your, well let's say scent, he has been on edge and very aggressive.” She smiled at him.
“Well I do suppose I should leave, many ponies to see,” his voice got quite shaky as I let out another low guttural growl, “and many more important things to attend to. Well aunt Celestia this is quite the wonderful shindig you have put together for her birthday but I must be going.” He proceeded to almost trip over his own feet trying to make a hasty but classy exit. The further away he was the less angry I was and Luna could not be happier.
“Well thank goodness he's finally gone, I was afraid I was actually going to have to let Redbeard loose to make my point.” She sounded quite relieved to be done with him.
As the daylight began to fade and the guests began file out of the garden there was still one more thing that went along with me.
“Well Luna, it's time to see where your new pet will be staying while in your care.” Celestia said with almost an excited tone. This made me happy to know there was more than just one of these horses was happy about my arrival. I was led into a ball room right next to the garden, Luna still keeping me on a short leash and a guard on either side of me. I guess my little display of aggression at the party had been taken note of and precautions were being put in place. After walking through the ball room, that I swear was at least half the length of a football field, we came to a grand set of stairs. The size was grand but it looked like there was about a thousand steps to get down, all this walking got me thinking they thought I might be a little too big for my own good and were slowly introducing to a daily workout regimen. After the four hundred something steps we took a rather abrupt left turn and headed down a mile long hallway that you could drive a semi truck through and not worry about clearance. The ceiling had to be twenty feet high and it was two lanes wide, you could have drag races in this place. it was so big and as many horses as there were milling about in place it felt like a ghost town. The guards also were plentiful as I saw one every fifty feet or so, the ones patrolling the hall seemed to be in better shape than the others, like they were scary fit horses.
After walking, no make that hiking, for almost forty-five minutes we finally came to a stop in front of a rather lavishly decorated door with gold trim and jewels in the door knob, I could only assume that this was Luna's room I was about to enter. Her horn began to glow and the doors slowly opened up to reveal her room and I should have seen it coming but I was still flabbergasted at that sight. The darn room was as tall as the hall and about as wide as the grand ballroom, it made her look a lot smaller by comparison. But the one thing in the room that caught us both by surprise was the giant split level cage in the back next to the window.
“Ta da!” Celestia sang as we stood there, Luna smiling with joy and me with a dumbfounded look on my face. “One custom built living cage for your new pet. It comes with all the accessories you would need to care for him and keep him happy and healthy. Let's get him inside and let him get acquainted with his new surroundings.” And without missing a beat Luna tugged on my leash to follow her.
“Come along Red Beard, come and see your new home.” She said eyes wide and smiling, so I slowly approached the cage.
The door was opened for me and I got the full view of what I was in for, a pet's life. Luna began to gently nudge me into the cage while closing the door at the same time, trying to hint at how I was taking my time. This was a full on giant hamster cage complete with a hanging water bottle, a running wheel in the back, straw on the floor and a litter box in the corner. I began to think I was going to sleep on the floor like most animals until, to my relief, I spotted a giant pet bed at the opposite end from the litter box. The cage itself was ten or twelve feet high and fifteen feet across both ways, this thing was bigger than most of the rooms at my old house. I began to climb the ramp to the second floor and found monkey bars and a food dish, this was turning into some kind of twisted dream or nightmare. As I was investigating the cage the front door slammed shut and the reality of this situation finally set in, I was the new and exotic pet of a pony princess. I fell back on my butt as it hit me and realized that I was stuck here for the time being, the only thing to do now was to watch Luna sort out her presents from the party. I climbed the side of the cage to get back down, watching her all the while. She had propped her giant teddy bear upon her bed, her stationery set was over on her desk and the encyclopedia to complete her set was sitting at the end of her bookshelf. But despite all the care she seemed to be taking to set these things in their proper place she made it quite obvious that I was her favorite gift of all. As soon as she was done she came right over and just watched me as I fluffed up my pet bed and curled up in it. She came right over to the corner and gave me a gentle pat on the head.
“Goodnight Red Beard, sweet dreams.” She said as I yawned and drifted off to sleep.