From Farmer to Wizard

Master was acting pretty weird around him, after he came back into the kitchen.

The Stallion hastily put the bag of Kibble in the pantry, well refusing to look at the boy, and having a weird expression he had never seen on an Equine before, guilt...

Over what the human couldn't fathom. Maybe the pony was in trouble for buying him? Hopefully the human wouldn't have to go back... he kinda liked it here.

Thankfully Master calmed down after a little while. The Stallion even kept his promise.

After he took the chest away (to who-knows-where but, if the human knew Equines half as well as he thought he did, he would be seeing that again real soon) the Stallion had taken 10 minutes to install a rod under the corner table, so he could put up a curtain.

The curtain being an old torn up blanket that the pony cut in half, in order to make it work as a curtain... it was blue with dragons of various colors on it, being ridden by ponies in majestic armor... looked pretty cool, and the holes in the fabric actually made it, so it wasn't too dark under the table when the curtain was closed.

Master said he had the blanket since he was a foal, and just couldn't bring himself to throw it away, but he was happy to finally find a use for it. Master even threw a few worn comforters under the table, so the human could keep warm...

"Don't know how wild humans manage to keep warm in winter," Master tried to make small talk, as he guided the human out the door, once they were finished...

Master wasn't very good at it. He kept pausing, trying to get the human to say something without asking a direct question... regardless what the old mare said, the boy hadn't made idle chitchat in years... he didn't really remember how... so they both kinda just stood their awkwardly...

Master didn't seem to be a big talker either, but he was trying to get the boy interested in trying it.

Still The human wasn't willing to talk about what "wild" humans did. That seemed like an obvious trick. He was supposed to pretend his old life never happened, which was easy enough... he didn't really remember it.

"Ya got no fur," Master pointed out, as they walked out of the house. Then the Stallion quickly, expertly, strapped himself back into the cart.

The human self-consciously looked down, at himself. He had a weird patch of fur here or there. One above his dick, another on his arm pits, on the top of his head, and even his eyebrows had a thin strip of fur on them. But yeah, other then that he was as bold as a naked mole rat.

"H-humans used to have lots of fur," The human dared to say. He paused for a moment, waiting to see what his new master would do ,since he spoke out of turn. When nothing happened he talked a little more, "But evolution kinda bred it out of us." He hesitantly ran a hand over his smooth arm.

Master raised an eyebrow, "I wonder how that happened,"

The human didn't dare reply to that. It was pushing it enough, just admitting to know what "evolution" was... humans weren't suppose to be educated in such things.

From what little schooling the boy had, before he was captured, ancient humans developed "hair removal" gadgets... they used them so much, the body adapted and fur just kinda stopped growing there... which was kinda stupid cause now they had no natural protection against the cold...

"Humans sew together animal skins, into cloaks for winter gear," The human hadn't realized he said it until it was too late. He immediately flinched but master didn't seem to mind... he seemed... curious...

"Animal skins?" Master blinked.

"Y-yes Master," The boy hesitantly nodded. "We sew together animal skins, stuffed with cotton from our farms. That keeps us warm."

The farms were kept miles away from the actual tribe, with no roads. It made it harder to get to, but it also made it so ponies couldn't figure out where the village was... at least it was suppose to...

"Hmmm," Master thought on it. "Don't go telling Fluttershy about that. She'll have a right fit."

"Yes Master," The human obediently nodded, making a mental note to avoid this 'Fluttershy' if he could... he probably wouldn't have a choice, if they were one of Master's friends.

Master finally got himself strapped in, it looked like a lot of work with hooves, then started walking over to the barn. The boy made sure to stay by his Master's side. Master gave him another light wack to his bottom to get him moving.

"Maybe I should look into getting ya some regular winter gear?" Master thought. "Or maybe I can cast a warming spell on ya!" he grinned eagerly.

Master seemed super excited by the idea of having a practical use for magic. So the human didn't tell him about the winter cloak that was probably at the bottom of his care chest. That cloak was made out of synthetic materials... and was kinda itchy...

The human never liked wearing it, so hopefully master could get the hang of his magic before winter, and cast the spell on him instead.

Master parked the cart in the barn, then got in an argument with the filly about moving her stuff, so that they could share the upper floor. The filly did NOT seem happy about that, which only upset master. She quieted down when Master threatened to tell their family matriarch about her backtalking.

Still the filly pouted the whole time as she and master moved all her stuff to the right side of the upper floor. The human wasn't allowed to help with that. Master thought the furniture and barrels might be too heavy for him. When they were done, Master ordered him, but in a strangely gentle way, to help 'Applebloom' organize her stuff. Then the Stallion got to work on bringing up his own furniture.

First, on Applebloom's insistence, Master brought up some weird looking bookcases. They were nice and well crafted, sturdy. Even with intricate patterns carved into the wood, but they were weird, in the sense, they had shelves built into both the front and back of them.

The Young Mistress, errr the matriarch might like it more if he called the filly "Madam", anyway the Young Madam insisted on separating the top floor with the bookcases. That way she still had privacy, and the extra storage space would "make up" for losing the physical space.

It took more then an hour until Master finally came back to check on him.

"Applebloom?" Master called as he walked into her side of the upper floor. There was a good 10 feet between the end of bookshelves and the railing, so plenty of room for multiple creatures to walk.

"Yeah?" Applebloom looked over at him.

The human was still organizing her new setup. He was pretty good at organizing and labeling things. The human was currently holding a small box of... raisins? Some kind of dehydrated berries anyway... but they were pink with some specs of green.

"That ointment ready yet?" asked Master.

Applebloom rolled her eyes, with far too much attitude. She pointed a hoof at a nearby table, where a small Cauldron bubbled. "It's still cooking, got another 13 minutes before I need to add the blood."

The pale human went even whiter. Then pitifully whimpered as Applebloom snapped. "How many times Ah got to tell ya! It ain't gonna hurt!"

The human was trembling at her tone, and the idea of having his blood used in a potion.

"Applebloom!" Master snapped right back. "Just cuz yer mad at me, don't give ya no right to take it out on an abused critter! Especially not when he's been kind enough to help ya rearrange yer stuff! APOLOGIZE!" he growled out the last word.

Applebloom sighed, but it was strangely one of true regret, "Sorry..." she said in a small voice to the human.

The human couldn't figure out what just happened. No one had ever apologized to him before, and he had certainly had worse things said to him. All the filly did was use a scary tone and now she was apologizing for it?

Then again, this was the same filly that wanted to stab him and take his blood... but that was so they could heal him... To say he was confused was an understatement.

Still he said what was expected of him, "It's alright Young Madam. I'll do better."

The fillies ears pinned in despair but the boy couldn't figure out why. He hoped he hadn't said something to offend her.

"Come on little fella," Master waved at him. "It's time for your break anyway. Then I need your help putting away my stuff. Applebloom can handle things from here."

Applebloom hung her head, but the human was too confused to act immediately to the order, like he was trained to.

"Did I do something wrong?" The human dared asked.

"You're not the one who did something wrong," Master insisted, but that only confused the boy more.

Applebloom gently took, the box out of his arms, While Master waved him over.

The human gave one last confused look at the filly, before obeying his master and returning to his side of the lab... it looked... kinda cool. Really nice furniture covering the walls, but there was a wide open space in the center of the room.

Master had placed normal bookcases against the far wall to the left. They were actually covering the entire wall. Then he had a bunch of dressers, a couple rectangular tables, and a desk against the middle wall.

There were only three walls, as behind him led to a rather steep fall, and the other 3/4th of the barn... it was a really big barn though, so they had lots of space on the upper floor.

The walls were pretty crowded though, but the boy had seen the labs of his trainers, and it was almost cliche how well this set up fit that. This is what a wizard's domain was supposed to look like, as far as the human knew.

There was still plenty of open space, in the center of the room. It was just the walls that looked cluttered. Still lots and lots of space to walk around, and practice his spells.

The furniture even looked well crafted and expensive... for the most part.

The human noticed a shabby looking table, with a similar makeshift curtain like the one in the kitchen. It made sense, master wouldn't want to let him sleep under the good table. He might ruin it.

Still the human was just grateful, there was a comfortable place for him in his master's workshop. The boy figured he'd be spending a lot of time in here.

Master smiled at him, "What do you think?"

The human gulped at that kind of question. He hoped he would get the answer right. "It looks very professional, Master. Like a legitimate wizard's lab."

That seemed to be the thing to say. "Eeeee-yup," Master smiled. "Sorry I had to use one of the picnic tables for your room," pointing at the shabby table. "Grannie would have thrown a fit if I drilled into one of Great Grand Poppies hoof made tables."

"I don't mind," The Human assured, "Thank you, Master," he quickly added.

Master nodded, "We usually use those cheap tables for our family reunions, but I'm sure Grannie won't mind I used one for you."

That... worried the human. Hopefully the Apple Matriarch didn't take away his bed. Master legitimately didn't seem worried about it.

The Stallion smiled at him, and started guiding him over to the shabby table.

Pulling back the curtain, Master revealed another doggie bed, with a big bowl of water next to it, on the floor. Then a big chest at the other side of the bed. The table was a couple of feet longer, then the one in the kitchen. So there was more then enough space for the chest, and then some.

"Open it," Master ordered, but in a kind way, with a smile on his face.

Still the human gulped. There was NEVER anything good in chest. ESPECIALLY when an Equine demanded you open it yourself.

Still the boy got on his knees and crawled under the table. He obediently opened the chest... and blinked... then blinked some more.

Well yeah, this wasn't the same chest master got from the human tamers, it was obviously more warn and made of a different wood, but he certainly didn't expect... this...

"These were mine when I was a colt," Master smiled, pulling out one of the 6 inch pony action figures. It was somekind of space cowcolt.

The figure looked like it must be from some old cartoon, but the human wasn't allowed to read comic strips, so he wouldn't know... he didn't even know how to read, so it's not like he would get anything out of those... still... this was a large collection of toys... in his designated area... did he dare dream?

"And now," Master smiled, "They're yours."

The human was stunned.

"You picked a few action figures for your toys," Master went on. "so I reckoned you might appreciate these."

"They're really mine?" The human dared to ask.

Master kept his kind smile, "Eeyup."

For a split second the human forgot his place. He lept out from under the table, and wrapped his arms around the pony. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he reapeated, hugging the pony tight.

It was kinda stupid and childish to like toys but... toys were the only familiar thing the Saddle Arabians exposed him to... they were also the only form of entertainment he was allowed... because Equines thought he was cute while playing with them...

Suddenly the boy stiffened as he realized what he had done. Before he could jump back and beg forgiveness, the pony wrapped one of his legs round him, pressing the boy tightly against him. The pony even started nuzzling him... it was nice... The boy wanted to cry. No pony had ever been this kind to him.

He wasn't an idiot. He figured this couldn't last. His master might be kinder then the horses who trained him, but he was still an Equine...

He didn't expect his life to suddenly become rainbows and sunshine. He still expected harsh beatings and humiliating "punishments" when he didn't actually do anything wrong, but his masters wanted to punish him... he still expected to cry and scream in pain when his master wanted to... please him... The boy knew his place and had long since accepted it...

But still... it was nice having a master that liked hugs, and gave him toys, and even provided comfy places to relax during the day. Hopefully this wasn't just his master easing him in on his first day... a boy can dream, right? Hopefully... hopefully his new master would still be kind tomorrow... however doubtful that was...

The human gave a sharp / adorable yelp (like he was trained to) as he felt a harsh smack to his bum, just as the pony began to pull away. The human took this to mean his master was dismissing the hug. So the boy quickly let go.

His bum stung a bit from the slap, but truthfully, if THAT was the only thing his new master wanted to hit, the boy would consider himself incredibly lucky...

Maybe he should submit himself for a proper spanking, to show his master what a good boy he was? Master clearly liked doing it, judging by the casual swats the boy had gotten, since Master bought him... if he volunteered for a real spanking that would make Master really really happy, and the pony wouldn't be looking to make up stuff, in order to spank him if he willingly submitted himself now and then.

The human hated it when Equines just made up excuses to beat him. It just wasn't fair! He always tried his best to be good!

Maintenance or "play" spankings, were fine, but he hated being legitimately punished for no reason, other then his master was horny. It was much better to just volunteer himself... Not now though. Master was busy.

"Now go play in your room for a bit," Master ordered, as he hoofed over the toy.

The human figured the spot under the table was his 'room'... he had a room, no he had TWO ROOMS!!! The Human grinned eagerly and crawled onto his matt. It was by far the comfiest thing he had ever got to lay on.

The human looked at the toy in his hand, and gently put it on the floor, in front of the chest. Then he went looking for some kind of monster for it to fight.

Thre were a whole mess of generic monster figures. Master must have collected those toy bundles at one point. The boy could make out a few sets (of Dinosaurs, Monsters, and Bugs) all roughly the same size (6 to 8 inches). There were even a few duplicates.

So the human gathered a few Timberwolves and had them chase after the space cowcolt. He knew better then to let the Timberwolves come anywhere close to winning the fight.

Equines thought he was being "defiant", if the ponies in his games struggled at all to win... it's why he prefers Dragon figures, besides the fact dragons were cool, but Master wanted him to play with this one, specifically. So he had to be careful.

Master started carrying up boxes from the cart up the ladder, one at a time... but he wasn't unpacking... maybe the human was supposed to do that?

The boy left his place on the matt, and went to the boxes. Picking up a few books he started organizing them on the shelves.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Master asked as he brought up another box.

In a panic, the human immediately dropped all the books and ran back to the bed, all the while screaming, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he dove under the table, and curled up into a protective ball, waiting for punishment.

Why was he being so bad today? He just kept messing up. Surely Master regretted buying him.

The young Madam poked her head into this side of the lab, "What the hay?"

"Language," Master sighed, putting the box down and coming over.

The human trembled at his approach, but knew better then to run away. When Master got there, he started petting him again.

"You're not in any trouble," Master swore, gently petting him, "Everything is okay."

Last time master did this, he actually meant it. So the human hesitantly relaxed and peeked out.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Master promised, "I actually appreciate the help, but you must be tired after helping Applebloom for so long." not really... he had just organizing the potions ingredients... "Just relax for now, then you can help me... okay?"

"Y-yes Master," The human couldn't help the stutter in his voice. He just did that when he was scared or uncertain. He knew how much Equines hated it.

"Good Boy," Master lightly patted him, and started walking away.

The human just blinked, once again he had acted up, and once again his master refrained from punishing him... was he waiting for tonight before bed? The human gulped at the thought.

"Actually," The Young Mistress got Master's attention, just before he got to the ladder. "I need to collect the blood sample now."

The human stiffened, while Master gave an exacerbated sigh.

"Can't you wait until he calms down?" Master strangely asked.

Maybe human blood did something weird, in potions, when the human was scared?

"Not really," Young Madam explained. "If I don't add the ingredients, at precisely the right time, it will go bad and I'll have to start over."

Master let out another sigh and called to the human, " Come here boy."

The human did the absolute worst thing that any master definitely couldn't forgive... he froze. He stayed right where he was, when Master was calling him over. Master sighed again and started walking over.

"I'm coming!" the boy screamed and jumped out of bed, scraping his knee as he frantically got out.

The WORST possible thing a master could do was get you themselves. None of them liked it, and they ALWAYS gave harsh punishments for it.

How could he be so stupid! Was... was he testing his boundaries? Maybe subconsciously?

The horses who trained him, were always talking about how humans were naturally rebellious, and needed constant physical correction or they would disrespect their masters... he hoped that wasn't what he was doing...

The boy tried to prove he wasn't like that. He ran over to his master, as fast as he could, and immediately stopped in front of him.

The boy stood at full attention, well bracing himself for the hit... but master... just kinda... nuzzled him...

"It's alright," Master promised, leaving the human thoroughly confused... yeah... the Stallion probably was waiting to punish the boy tonight... probably making a mental list of his transgressions...

The boy gulped. Master was busy today. He didn't have time to properly punish his new pet over every little thing. The boy really should be on his best behavior today, especially since Master just got him.

"I hate to rush you," Applebloom tried. "but if I don't add the ingredients within the next minute, I'll have to start all over again."

Master sighed, "Alright," He gently nudged the human back over to Applebloom's side.

The boy started shaking, but obeyed Master's silent order. He soon found himself sitting on a stool, in front of the Cauldron.

The Young Madam took a needle out of a small dish of rubbing alcohol. She held the end in her mouth, scrunching up her face at the undoubtedly bad taste of the liquid. Next she gently took the human's hand and...

"What's dat!?" Applebloom yelped in surprise as she pointed out her window.

The human instinctively turned his head, then yelped as he felt a quick sting in his index finger. Looking back to her she was holding his finger over the Cauldron, and squeezing it with her hooves. There was definitely pressure there but it didn't really hurt.

A single drop of blood fell into the Cauldron. She let go of his hand and started stirring with a large wooden spoon. The human immediately started sucking on his finger, as the solution turned from green to white.

"That wasn't so bad," Applebloom smiled at him as she stirred. "Was it?"

"No Young Madam," The human automatically said.

Master asked, "How long it gonna take now?"

"Not long," Said Applebloom. "I just got to stir it until it turns into a paste."

"M-Master," The human tried. He didn't want the Stallion to get in trouble, but Master clearly had forgotten. "Your matriarch wants you to... hose me down before letting me in the house, after we're done working..." he didn't dare make a suggestion of what they should do though.

Thankfully the Young Madam seemed to make the connection. "Really?" the teenager tilted her head then looked at Big Mac. "You better wait to put the ointment on him til after we're done out here."

Master blinked, "You want me to apply it? You're the Potion Mare."

Applebloom rolled her eyes, "He's got bruises, welts, and cuts all over his flank and even on his," She blushed. "On his bucking BITS!!! I ain't touching that!"

Master blushed back, not having thought of that.

"Besides," Applebloom huffed. "He's your critter. It's your job to handle gross stuff like that."

Master sighed, "Eeeyep," then nudged the human off the stool, and gave him another swat to his rear, accompanied by an order to "Get" to his "Room".