Chapters A Goldfish for a Golden Princess
After leaving a few of her servants and guards in charge, Princess Celestia walked out of the castle gates, humming a little tune to herself.
"Hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm..."
Exactly five minutes later, when she arrived at the pet shop, she stopped humming at
"Hmmm hmmm hmmmm."
She looked through the window to see all sorts of little animals. She saw puppies and kittens, hamsters and birds, as well as fish, and even a small little hedgehog. The scrolls were also a lot more accurate that she thought they would be. The puppies were playing, some cats were sleepy, and the hamsters were interesting to watch when they ran around on their little wheels. But most importantly of all, she was already feeling better, with more of a sense of peace than she had been before coming.
She then remembered why she had came, and decided to open the door to come in. When she did, she heard a little dinging above her, and she shut the door behind herself. Then, she saw a white pegasus mare with the cutie mark of a dog come in.
"How may I help you?" she asked.
Then, realizing who she was talking to, she immediately bowed down in front of her, a look timid look on her face.
"I'm sorry, my princess! I did not realize that you were coming, otherwise I would of tidied the place up a bit more, and done a better job with the animals! Please don't take away my licence!"
"You may rise, fellow subject. Also, why would I ever do such a thing as take your license away? And what is your name, so that I can know more about you?"
The white pegasus then did so, and told about what had been going on.
"You see, princess, sometimes the pets have been... um, escaping . I've tried to take care of it, but sometimes it can be difficult, princess. I don't always have the time to keep them here, and I can't afford to have another pony keep them from escaping, or for a unicorn to enchant the place so that they can't escape when they're not supposed to! Also, my name is Timid Doogle."
"Well, I can perhaps help you if you want. I can put a spell on the door so that a pet can only get out if they are supposed to, like when they are adopted."
"Do you really mean it? Thank you so much, princess!"
The look on Timid Doogle's face was slowly getting less timed, and more happy by the second.
Princess Celestia then considered which spell would word best for the situation. She decided that the best would be two mixed spells, one for only allowing ponies through, and one that was used let prisoners be free only when their sentence was done. She also mixed in some other small ones, for certain situations, and sent a small yellow beam towards the door.
"Oh, thank you, princess! However can I thank you today for your presence and this kind deed?"
"Well, there is one thing. I came here to get a pet for myself. Could you perhaps show me around this place and all the pets?"
"Why, of course!"
Author's Note
Whoever can regognize and guess what song she's humming gets a follow.
A Goldfish for a Golden Princess
The way home took longer than the way to the shop for Princess Celestia, for she was trying to be careful with her fish, while the rest of the supplies were in her bags. She was happy and excited to be able to have a creature to spend time with, after she couldn't spend time with her sister anymore. Soon enough, they arrived home. She went to her room, and started talking to her fish.
"Hi, Goldie. You can call me Tia. I would like to tell you some things about myself, so that you don't feel lonely..."
A few hours later, when it was almost nighttime, she was done talking. She watched her fish go round and round, and stopped thinking about her sister. Occasionally, bubbles came out of Goldie's mouth, and Tia thought of what they might of been saying.
"Want to see me rise the moon?"
The fish seemed to nod a tiny bit, and the princess then took her new goldfish outside with her. As she lowered the sun, and raised the moon, she felt calmer than before, and it appeared that Goldie liked being with her as well.
A Goldfish for a Golden Princess
Princess Celestia was sad to have had sent her sister away to the moon. To her, this wasn't like the old times, where they fought against villains like Discord together. Instead, she had to go against her own sister. It was the difference between peace and war, between light and dark.
She had always blamed herself for doing so, and oftentimes had nightmares about it. Sometimes, the same thing happened. In others, Luna´s winning only brought a dark, eternal night. There was a big tear in her heart, one that she couldn't ignore. A week passed, and she just couldn't bear it. Not even their loyal subjects could fill it even a tiny bit, because they never payed any attention to Luna in the first place. They couldn't fill it, even if they tried.
Then, she considered something. She could go live on the moon with her sister as well. But then she remembered why she had sent her away, and that it would leave all the ponies with no pony to rule them, and it would be even worse than before.
But, she had one thing she could still do. Though the ponies may not be able to help, maybe a pet could. She thought of this when she had remembered reading a new scroll about the new scientific evidence that a pet can sometimes help physically, and emotionally. She wasn't quite sure if it would really help, but it was worth a try, plus she would get to make an animal´s life better as well. It was worth a try, even if it didn't really work.
Author's Note
Who likes this story so far?
A Goldfish for a Golden Princess
Tia then began to do more research on the subject, and found that different pets tend to act different ways, and also have very different needs.
Dogs tend to like their owners, and be playful, especially at a young age, but need daily exercise. Cats tend to sleep a lot, and love you when you pet them, especially behind the ears, but need to be alone sometimes. Some animals that live in cages such as hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice are sometimes fun to watch, but need their cage cleaned often. Fish swim in water, and can be nice to watch, and tend to make viewers less bored, plus need to be fed a bit everyday.
That was just the basics of it all, but she knew that her servants would probably know more about how to take care of whatever pet she would decide to get. Plus, she didn't need to just ask for one, and be happy with the one she got. She could still go to the pet shop before hoof, and see all of them before getting one to make her life happier. She was feeling better already.
She started packing her saddlebags with lots of money, and brought a few reusable bags to carry anything she needed for at the pet store. Walking down the hallways, she tried to focus on getting a pet, instead of missing her sister that she had banished to the moon.
A Goldfish for a Golden Princess
After a tour around the place, Timid Doogle didn't seem to be nervous anymore, and Tia didn't just know more about the place, but also about the different types of pets. After one more look around, she had finally made her decision.
"May I have one of these fish in that tank over there?" she said, pointing at some goldfish.
"A goldfish? Why, of course!"
She then flew up and grabbed a fish bowl from a shelf on the wall, filled it with water, and scooped up one of the fish with a small net into the glass container.
"Let me help you get the supplies as well, my princess."
She then grabbed a bag of fish food, a lid with some breathing holes, a snail, some pebbles, and some toothpicks.
"Here's the fish food and the toothpicks. The pebbles are customary, and the snail's for keeping the water clean, they tend to do that if you leave them in the water. You can also come back if you need any more help, or more supplies."
She then put the pebbles in, and cautiously put the snail in as well. Then, after screwing the lid on, she showed the princess how to get some food onto a toothpick, and feed them through the holes.
"There's only one thing left to do, Princess Celestia. What would you like to name your fish?"
She had forgotten to think of a name, and started thinking about this decision. After a moment, she said the first thing that had come to her head.
"Goldy, Timid Doogle. I want to name her Goldy. How much do I need to pay?"
"Free of charge, because you are a princess, after all, and because of your kindness."
"Actually, you need not call me princess, and I insist."
Then, Tia got fifty bits from her purse, and levitated them onto the counter.
"Why, um, thank you, um, Cesestia. Have a good day, and I hope that you enjoy taking care of Goldie!"
"You too, and I will!" Celestia said as she exited out the door.
Author's Note
I have finally gotten past the part where Tia adopted a goldfish!
