"Please purchase me, ma'am," I cried bitterly at the creamy mare that was walking on the other side of the street.

This caught her attention. She looked at me and then trotted over to see what the fuss was about. Then she saw the sign hung about my neck.

GELDING: 235 BITS. AGE: 10. RACE: EARTH PONY. HARD WORKER.

She then also looked at the chain that connected my to the fence post in the front long where I had been told to sit. I was dirty and cold, having been outside for a few days. A bowl of water and table scraps sat close by. My parents were still feeding me.

"Why are you crying, little colt?" She asked in concern.

I gasped. She had just called a colt. But, I wasn't anymore. I was a gelding, the lowest of the low. Even the neutered family dog was allowed in the house and showered with love. How could this mare mock me like that?

I sniffed. It didn't matter if she mocked me. I had to be purchased. "Because I need to be sold today, or my father will sell me to the salt mines. No gelding ever comes back from there."

She frowned and looked down at the sign about my neck again.

"Please," I wept. "I'll work hard, I'll never complain. Just don't let me be go to the salt mines."

"I don't want a gelding."

My ears fell. This was it. I was going to die in the mines. I lowered my head until my nose was touching the ground. I couldn't even cry anymore, my already broken world was crashing down around. If only I had been a better son.

I didn't even notice when the mare walked past me and knocked on the door of the house before being let inside. But I did notice when the sign was removed. I looked up to see the mare looking down on me, along with my parents who were beaming as the jingled a bag of golden bits.

"You won't regret this purchase, ma'am," my father chuckled as he undid the chain from the fencepost and passed it to the mare who took the end in her mouth and gave it a little tug, prompting me to rise up on all fours and walk towards her.

"He may be a little scrawny now," my mother pointed out, poking me none-to-gently in the ribs. "But, some proper discipline and he'll have enough muscle to pull your wagon all across equestrian.

The mare just nodded and turned to leave, tugging the chain again to that I would follow by her side. I did as instructed, too shocked to say anything. I didn't even look back at my parents. I didn't want to see them ever again.

She made a couple stops at a few stores along the way, chaining me up outside while she made her purchases. The fillies and colts of the small town would pause to ridicule and toss vegetables at me. I put up with it. The mare would shoo them away when she emerged from store, seeming upset for some reason.

Was it something I did? I hope she doesn't return me. Father might be so mad that he might just hang me from the tree in the backyard out of spite.

Thankfully, this was not the case. She just tugged the chain and I silently followed at her hooves until we reached her wagon on the outskirts of town. There she removed the chain from about my neck and tossed it aside.

I... I felt so free once it was removed, I felt as though I could run forever. But, I didn't, of course. A gelding always remains for his master and mistress's pleasure. I moved quickly to the wagon's harness and began trying to slip it on. She wanted me to pull it, of course.

But, then, I was wrapped in her magic and pulled away from the harness and back towards her. She looked at me and shook her head. I had done something wrong.

Wordlessly, she carried me around to the other side of the wagon where there was a door. Inside the wagon, she set me on a mat, and began filling a tub with water, casting expressionless looks in my direction. I remained silent as well. A good gelding only speaks when spoken to.

When the tub was halfway full, she picked up in her magic again and plopped me into the water. It was warm .Why had she wasted her warm water on me? Maybe it was a mistake. Would she be angry?

She didn't say a word, but scrubbed me with scented soap and washrags until I was clean My violet fur a yellow mane squeaky clean. With a nod of satisfaction, she began draining the water as she lifted me from the tug to dry me off with some fluffy towels.

When she was done, she gave a small smile. "Stay here and rest until I come back."

Then she left. I stayed where she left me, knowing I should obey my mistress. Then the wagon gave a lurch, and I found that we were moving. She was pulling the wagon. Why? That was my job.

But, I remained where I was. Then I fell asleep, my anxiety finally wearing me out.

"Time to wake up."

I rose quickly at the sound of mistress's voice. I sat up straight and ready to obey. What I saw, however did not compute.

She was holding a cake in her magic, complete with lit candles and decorative frosting. She was even smiling broadly.

"You didn't have to sleep on the floor," she said, indicating her bed with her head. But that was her bed.

"Am I dreaming, mistress?" I asked unable to make sense of what was happening.

She shook her head. "Not at all. I told you that I didn't want a gelding."

She laid the cake in front of me and beamed. "You deserve more than a life of servitude. I've always wanted a foal. But, I'm too poor to adopt properly."

I gasped. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This couldn't be real.

Her ears drooped and she sighed. "I'm sorry for your predicament. But, I wish I could have saved you. You may be a gelding, but I hope you'll accept me as your mother. A better mother than that beast who birthed you."

Even after we had our cake, after she sang me a few songs, and even after she took me to bed a cuddled me against her breast while she slept, I could not believe it. No one would adopt a gelding. No one could adopt a gelding. It was illegal. Celestia had decreed us fit only as servants and playthings. But... I couldn't help but snuggle into her warmth and drift off.

Even if this was all just a cruel trick, I would make the most of it.