The Tale of Tux n Tails

by mbrsart

Chapter 1.5 - The Perfect Pet

Tux looked at the array of animals before him, and needless to say, he was overwhelmed. Fluttershy had gathered together dozens of different potential pets, ranging from hummingbirds and eagles to dogs and cats. "I have to choose?" he asked.

"You can always choose more than one," Fluttershy replied with a smile. "But if you choose too many, they could be too hard to take care of."

"I've always admired eagles," he pondered. "They're so majestic. And this one looks like she would love to fly with me." The bird chirped in approval.

"But hummingbirds are so cute," he said, moving on. The little bird began flitting back and forth, chirping gleefully. "And all I'd have to feed him is sugar and water, instead of...mice and rats."

The bird nodded with a cheerful, "Mm-hmm."

"Hummingbirds make very good pets," Fluttershy commented.

"But I've always wanted a faithful dog." He lowered his head, looking eye-to-eye with a particularly droopy basset hound, who was panting and wagging his tail. "Like you, for instance."

"Woof!" he barked, licking Tux in the face.

But then he felt something brushing against his legs, purring and mewing. He looked down to see a smiling calico cat. "Aww, you're so pretty."

"Mrao," the cat agreed.

He felt a gentle tug on his tail, and he turned around to see an unbearably cute lemur-looking primate with huge, brown eyes reaching up for him with its tiny hands. His heart melted. "A slow loris?"

"Not a wild one, either. Her family has been domesticated for three generations."

At this point, it was impossible for him to decide. He kept going to every animal and weighing their pros, their cons, and their overall cuteness factor. The decision got harder and harder to make, until he saw a pair of black cats off to the side, looking somewhat sad. He walked over and asked, "What about them?"

"Nopony seems to want them," Fluttershy sighed sadly. "They're considered bad luck across Equestria."

"Well, I don't believe in luck." One of the cats was sleek like a panther, and the other was just about the fluffiest cat he'd ever seen. "Hey, there," he greeted, reaching down and touching the sleeker one with the tip of his wing.

"Mrrao," the cat replied. It sounded like he was muttering. The other one looked up and mewed daintily, rubbing against Tux's leg.

"You guys are really sweet," he smiled. "It's too bad I can't keep both of you."

"Mao," the sleeker one said.

"They're very close," Fluttershy explained. "They're brother and sister, the only two left in their litter."

"I know how much I love my sister," he sighed. "I guess I could take both of them." By now, they were both swirling around his legs, purring quietly.

"What will you name them?"

"Well, who's what?"

"The sleek one is the boy, and the fluffy one is the girl."

"I think I'll call him Levi, and her Wrangler," he said after some thought.

"Interesting names," she commented.

"They're the two most popular saddle makers in Equestria. Those names are perfect. How do you like your name, Levi?"

"Mew," he replied approvingly.

"Meerow," Wrangler added affectionately.

"I think I've found my perfect pets," Tux smiled.

Author's Note:

Short chapter, but there's not much I can get out of this vignette without totally copying "May the Best Pet Win".